Biography

Mitsu Salmon creates solo and collaborative video and performance pieces.

Born in Los Angeles, California.
Salmon graduated in 2005 from NYU where she majored in Experimental Theater, studying theater and visual arts.

She has lived and studied in India, England, Germany, Amsterdam and Japan.

She has performed solo work at places such Performance Space 122, Dance Theater Workshop, Highways Performance Space and internationally at Hebbel Am Uffer, the Berlin Performance Art Festival and the London Performance Art Festival.

She has collaborated with England based theatre group, the Solvents, John Jesurun and extensively with Open Gate Theater.

She has been awarded Los Angeles Getty Multicultural Internship Grant, Tisch Scholarship and an artist residency at Earthdance.

Currently she resides in Kyoto, Japan.

Collaborations- Japan

Currently I live in Kyoto, Japan where I moved two years ago in order to get in touch with my roots. My mother is originally from Japan, but moved to the USA as a young child. Kyoto is an exquistely beautiful place and I constantly struck with the gorgeous details in daily life, from the packaging of my food to the ordaments in a women`s hair.

One of my main ways to enter the culture is by studying butoh dance with Ima Tenko. She was a former member of the company Byakkosha. A company I grew up looking at pictures of in my father`s books on butoh. She tells me stories of Japan during its heyday in the 1980s before the bubble burst and avant garde artists were funded. She has introduced many folktales and symbols of Japan to me. I am in her company Ima Tenko and Kiraza. Currently we are working on the piece, The Peacock Boat.

I am currently collaborating with ryotaro, an accordion player , composer and performer. His playing is stunning, fierce and at moments beautifully melancholy. We have performed together in Europe and the USA.

Our work is a series of intimate segments, both choreographed and spontaneous. Music and dance are the essential elements in the pieces. We also use text, comedy and surrealistic imagery to create work, which examines universal and complex issues, particularly the theme of belonging and longing.

http://www.ryotaro.info/

Links
I have previously worked with the following artists and companies.

Open Gate Theater
Los Angeles, USA

The Solvents
Berlin, Germany
Totnes, England

John Jesurun
New York, USA

Bread and Puppet Theater
Vermont, USA

Rain

RAIN performed 10/30/2008 at Urban Guild Kyoto
RAIN is collaboration between ryotaro and myself. The music and choreography are inspired by the underlying image of rain and its associations with water, continuous moving and falling, memory and longing.



For more excerpts please click.

Tenjin Matsuri

Tenjin Matsuri

July 2008, Osaka Japan


Video by Ben Anderson

Tales of Love and Woe

Tales of Love and Woe

January 2008
Diavolo Performance Center
Los Angeles, USA

Los Angeles Weekly Pick of the Week

Video by Marcus Chun

Berlin Street Performance

Street Performance

March, 2007
Berlin, Germany
In collaboration with Baptiste Andre


Video by Baptiste Andre

Contact

Email:

footfootyourmom@gmail.com

Photographs

Kawabata River

Kyoto, Japan
October 2008
Photo by Hajime Okashi

Librarian
Beta Level
Los Angeles, USA
November, 2007
Photo by Harold Abramowitz

Odyssey
Hebbel Um Uffer
Berlin, Germany
March 2007

Photo by Alex Forge

Essenzial Mente Ritmo
Glas Haus
Berlin, Germany
January, 2007
Collaboration with Silvia Franci
Photo by Matthais Von Hof

Heartbeating: Kamikaze Down.
Various location such as Performance 122 and Dixon Place
New York, USA
2004 and 2005Photo by David Wooten

Solo Performance

Herstory. A comedic piece about my Japanese-American heritage.

2003 New York University New York
2004 Pan Asian Repertory New York

Heartbeating: Kamikaze Down. An evening-long multidisciplinary performance piece inspired by my travels in India and my grandmother’s experiences in World War II Japan.
Full evening and excerpts performed at the following:
2004 New York University New York
2004 Performance Space 122 New York
2004 Pan Asian Repertory New York
2005 Dance Theater Workshop New York
Judson Church “About Town” dance series
2005 Dixon Place New York
2006 Brooklyn Arts Exchange New York
2006 Bread and Puppet Theater Vermont

Children. A multimedia performance piece exploring childhood, motherhood and teaching.
2006 Fields Arts Space New York
2006 Eagle Rock Cultural Center Los Angeles

Neurosis. Short structured improvisations performed almost weekly about young modern women’s experience with neurosis and transcendence.
2007 Barbie Dienoffs, Kreuzberg, Ballhous Ost and other various clubs and bars in Berlin, Germany.
2007 Dresden Dance Festival Germany

The Odyssey. A multimedia performance piece based on my travels and Homer’s Odyssey.
2006 Studio Buehne Berlin
2007 Hebbel Am Uffer at Hau 2 Berlin

Flight. A performance piece about a flight attendants rants and transcendence.
2007 Act Art London Festival London
2007 Diavolo Performance Center Los Angeles

Tales of Love and Woe. A performance piece layered with live music about various woman characters dealing with love, work and spiritual longing.
2008 Diavolo Performance Center Los Angeles

My Home the Library. A performance dance piece about a librarian’s love for books.
2008 Anatomy Riots Los Angeles
2008 Sushi Art San Diego

Fish dreams and other tales. A piece about a magical sushi restaurant.
2008 Nashi no Katashi Gallery Kyoto, Japan

Rain. A dance/music piece in collaboration with accordion player, ryotaro about rain, longing and love.
2008 Yaso Kyoto, Japan
2008 Urban Guild Kyoto, Japan

Education

Mitsu Salmon

Education
2001- 2005
New York University | Tisch School of the Arts | The Experimental Theater Wing
Acting, voice, movement, dance and self-scripting
Photography, painting, video and conceptual art

2004
Naropa University | Sikkim, India
Anthropology, Buddhism and Nepali language

2003
Experimental Theater Wing through NYU | Amsterdam, Holland
Theater composition, scene study, dance, autobiographical performance, and voice

2003-2008
Master classes in dance and performance with Peggy Pettitt, Raina VanWaldenberg, Ernst Abuba and Yumiko Yoshioka.

2008
University of California, Los Angeles Extensions | Video Art and Performance with Micol Hebron

Reviews, teaching, ect..

"Telling stories with movement and music — in surprising new ways"
-Los Angeles Weekly


Los Angeles Weekly Pick of the Week (Click on for link)
January 9th, 2008


Awards and Grants
2001-2005 | Tisch Scholarship | New York University
2005 | Graduated with Honors | New York University
2002 | Los Angeles Getty Multicultural Undergraduate Internship Grant


Artist and Residency
2006 Artist Residency through the Field at Earthdance | Massachusetts

Workshops
Led acting workshops in group improvisations, composition and physical theater
2005-2006 | Shambhala Buddhist Center | New York
2005 | Women Thursday Night Collective | New York
2005 | Karme Choling Meditation Center | Vermont
2007 | Dartington University through the Solvents | Totnes, England

Teaching
2006 | Creative Arts Team | New York
Actor teacher for elementary children
2008 | Assistant Language Teacher | Kyoto Japan
English as a second language teacher for Elementary and Junior High students

Dresden and Berlin Farewell

Fri/21/August
August in der Friedrichstadt!

Mitsu Salmon
with ryotaro
im friedrichstadtZentral
Friedrichstrasse 52 01067

Dresden, Germany
eintritt: 5 euro



Sat/22/August

Mitsu Salmon
with ryotaro

Dee Mee Tree
Catalina Jordon

21.00 Uhr

at LOOPHOLE

Tour in Germany and France with ryotaro

August 15th
TAM TAM TAM 5

Entrance: 5 EUR
Doors open on Saturday, 15th of August, at 9pm
Performances start at 10pm
Doors close on Sunday, 16th of August, at 5am


RAUM 18 is located on Ziegrastrase 11 12057 Berlin (Neukoelln), just next to S-BAHN Sonnenallee and Hotel Estrel.
Map

NOTE: If you want to take a taxi to RAUM 18, you can use our new CLUB MITFAHRGELEGENHEIT feature on http://playberlin.com/exchange/
Just post your ad and find people to share a taxi with.


DJs:
Tapemaster Trash /// http://www.myspace.com/16341255
Ben Butler & Mousepad
Flame Stag & Hot Fruits performance DJs

Live music:
Batalj (FR) /// http://www.myspace.com/batalj
Ze People Og Korh (SE) ///
Manbird Dog (DE/USA) ///
GTUK (DE) /// http://www.myspace.com/gtuk

Performances:
Mitsu Salmon & Ryotaro (JP/US)
Jessica Taylor (DE/US)
The Fruit Boy/Girl (YOU)

Video:
Dee Mee Tree /// http://deemeetree.com