BODHISATTVA BEER RUN

Cannonball Festival / Philly Fringe
September 14-21, 2024
Icebox Project Space — Philadelphia, PA
Premiere (NYC)
June 20-21, 2024
PAGEANT — Brooklyn, NY

Choreography and performance by evan ray suzuki and Glenn Potter-Takata
Projection and sound design by Glenn Potter-Takata
Projection videography, lighting, and costume design by evan ray suzuki
On-screen appearances by Tei Blow and Joe Masterman

Bodhisattva Beer Run was made possible with the support of the Bronx Dance Fund, a regrant program administered by the Bronx Council on the Arts.

Bodhisattva Beer Run is an evening-length dance work that contemplates the commodification of Buddhism and the performance of gender in the context of an Asian-American multi-generational culture transition. Building on evan and Glenn’s body of work as butoh dance-makers and their interest in Shingon Buddhism, the piece conflates the iterative nature of binge drinking and the mind-altering aspects of drunken euphoria with esoteric Buddhist practices like mantra recitation and mandala envisionment as a form of unfulfilled diasporic meaning-making. Bodhisattva Beer Run is loosely based on Glenn and evan’s experiences growing up in Asian-American enclaves on the West Coast, and uses home video reenactments, audio and projection feedback loops, and beer-fueled butoh as a form of almost autobiography. Through a sometimes irresponsible use of source material, Bodhisattva Beer Run underscores the parallels between Asian-American identity and the strangeness of the American absorption of Buddhism into the greater cultural conversation.

Binging to Bliss in Bodhisattva Beer Run
Culturebot by maura nguyễn donohue

How Many Coors Light Cans Were Harmed in the Making of This Show?
thINKing Dance by Ellen Miller

photos by Elyse Mertz and Ashley Smith/Wide Eyed Studios

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