The Salish Sea Butoh Festival will be coming to Port Townsend this weekend. The 2026 Festival’s MainStage Performances are a celebration of contemporary art and full creative expression.
Salish Sea Butoh Festival is an annual artistic convergence in Port Townsend dedicated to highlighting the art of Japanese Butoh (舞踏, Butô), a contemporary from of avant-garde dance-theater that originated in post-WW2 Tokyo and has since become a global art form. Since 2021, the summer festival has presented a weekend of MainStage performances featuring renowned Japanese performers and veteran Butoh artists from Japan, Europe, and Latin America. In recent years, the festival has also included academic lectures from historians and scholars of Japanese studies that highlight the unique history and philosophy of Butoh from its origins in the avant-garde of Tokyo, Japan to its expansion as a global art form. Salish Sea Butoh Festival is the one of the largest active Butoh festivals in North America, and the only annual festival in the United States that offers an extensive international Lineup featuring multiple Japanese master teachers from the senior generation of Butoh as well as world-renowned Butoh performers from countries all over the world.
In its sixth consecutive year, Salish Sea Butoh Festival does not shy away from the urgent social and ecological problems facing our world. This festival brings audiences and artists together to share in the joyous, complex experience of being alive, while amplifying work that is bold in its thinking, collaborative, and challenging. With offerings ranging from seated theatrical performances to multimedia art installations and outdoor site-specific dances on the beach, Salish Sea Butoh Festival is an opportunity to connect—not only with vital art and ideas, but with one another.
Beginning on July 31, the festival will feature a full weekend of MainStage performances and artistic projects from renowned international, national, and regional artists. Community members can arrive early to enjoy drinks and refreshments at the bar before the performances featuring renowned Japanese artists kick off, then keep the momentum going at afterparties hosted by beloved Port Townsend creatives.
2026 Lineup of Guest Artists and International Performers:
AKIRA KASAI from Tokyo, Japan
YUMIKO YOSHIOKA from Berlin, Germany
MOE YAMAMOTO from Kanazawa, Japan
KEI SHIRASAKA from Kanazawa, Japan
KOTA YAMAZAKI from Tokyo, Japan
MINA NISHIMURA from Tokyo, Japan
JOAN LAAGE/KOGUT from Seattle, WA
MITSUTAKE KASAI from Tokyo, Japan
EMIKO AGATSUMA from Nagano, Japan
For more information, visit www.salishseabutoh.com.
