Butoh-Clown Workshop – Klagenfurt, October 2025

Workshop moments captured by Miriam Strasser

From October 17–19, 2025, a group of curious movers, artists, and explorers gathered in Klagenfurt am Wörthersee to dive into the poetic, raw, and playful world of Butoh-Clown.

The workshop took place at the Kulturraum Ventil, hosted by VADA – Verein zur Anregung des dramatischen Appetits, whose invitation made this encounter possible.

Over three days, we worked through layers of presence, awareness, and transformation — discovering how slowness, silence, and absurdity can open new spaces of expression. Through a series of physical, sensory, and imaginative explorations, participants allowed their inner clowns to meet the depth of Butoh, creating moments both tender and wild, humorous and deeply human.

The atmosphere grew from individual research into collective creation — a space of curiosity, courage, and connection.

Here is some feedback from participants:

✨ “I’ve been interested in performance art for a long time and have experimented a bit on my own, but I often felt like I was just paraphrasing what I had already seen and what resonated with me. Since the Butoh-Clown Workshop, I feel like I’ve found my own language – a point from which I can continue working without falling into imitation.

Thank you so much for that!” — Sarah

✨ “Thank you so much for this wonderful workshop! Everything was new to me, and I truly enjoyed both the Butoh and the Clown exercises. Through them, new spaces and dimensions of awareness opened up for me. I’m fascinated by Butoh – by its unique state and expression – and through the clown within me, I discovered a new, playful and joyful perspective. Performing was great fun as well, and I felt very safe and comfortable in the atmosphere you created.” — Carmella

✨ “You are such an inspiring person, Miriam. When you speak about your work or demonstrate something, I just don’t want to stop listening or watching. Deep gratitude – and I’d love to join again!”— Yulia

✨“I was continuously engaged throughout the workshop – in a very stimulating and rewarding way. The breaks were important and well timed. It was impressive how much depth and content you managed to fit into such a short time. Of course, there’s that feeling of wanting to explore even more – but that’s actually a beautiful way to end. I also really appreciated our conversations outside the workshop, like your insights into Bouffon work. It felt like there’s always a possibility to dive deeper with you if one wishes. The only thing I would have loved to do more of were the clowning exercises – I had just started to really get into them. I’m already looking forward to seeing what comes next!”— Michael

Workshop RECAP

Thank you to everyone who joined and co-created this journey.Your openness, laughter, and presence made this weekend truly alive. Special thanks to VADA and the Kulturraum Ventil for the space and support in bringing this workshop to life.

Links:

https://vada.cc/

https://www.ventil.space/