Dixon Place and ASOBI NY to Present THE TANTRIC SHAMAN, 4/19

Dixon Place presents the ASOBI NY Production of The Tantric Shaman, a musical dance piece that invites audiences to ask themselves what would happen if they lost the breath of control, playing Friday, April 19th at 10 pm for one night only, at Dixon Place located at 161A Christie Street between Rivington and Delancey. The performance runs 70 minutes and includes word, music, dance, and film to depict the journey of a spirit crushed by oppression and its immortal potential for freedom.

The Tantric Shaman is conceived by Rico Noguchi with creative contributions by hucklefeary, Marcus Heileman, Matthew Daily, Ben Spatz, Todd Verow, George H. Lewis, and Amir Azad. Rico Noguchi stars as the Tantric Shaman along with Todd Verow as the undercover cop, hucklefaery as the unicorn, and Amir Azad as the cell inmate.

Historically, sexual energy has been a perceived threat to societies which have in turn suppressed this natural source of human freedom, even criminalizing it. The Tantric Shaman tells one such story of oppression out of innumerable others, portraying the sacred work of a healer seeking to help men trust and love through channeling sexual energy, his brutal arrest and detention by the police, and the seeds of awareness planted in an undercover cop after releasing his clench on control for just a few moments. The piece relies heavily on dynamic physical movement, music, and film projections to carry the narrative and pose questions to the audience. The theater will be cleansed and transformed as the Tantric Shaman journeys to his spirit animal and begins a tantric shamanic session. This vast inner world is then shattered, but only temporarily, as the Tantric Shaman is detained but reborn. In a society polarized by oppressors and the oppressed, The Tantric Shaman ultimately celebrates the connections the can always occur between individuals and the constant presence of potential freedom underlying every human act that we take.

Originally from Cusco, Peru, Erick Paiva-Nouchi a.k.a. Rico Noguchi, moved to New York City from Tokyo in 2006 to pursue studies in the Performing and Audio Visual Arts. In 2010, he was granted an 0-1 visa (Alien with Extraordinary Ability) in the performance art field under the sponsorship of International Arts Relations (INTAR Theater), a New York institution "producing Latino voices in English since 1966." Since that time Erick has created several works for the stage including pieces for INTAR, La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival and Theater for the New City.

Additionally, he was a member of the Brooklyn-based dance group The Daisy Spurs until April 2011. In the audio visual arena, Erick has created several videos, including "Mirror of Stone," shown at Globians Film Festival in Germany and "Nikkei-jin: Latinos in Japan," featured on the BBC World's website. In 2011, Erick co-founded ASOBI NY, an independent Production Company that is expanding from live performances into music podcasting, digital publishing and education in Shamanism and Tantra for Gay Men. ASOBI's first production was called "Love Masters" which premiered at the Theater for the New City's "Dream Up Festival" in August of 2011.

Dixon Place is a non-profit organization founded in 1986 to provide a space for literary and performing artists to create and develop new works in front of a live audience. Dixon Place is committed to providing inclusive, diverse performances at different stages of development by both emerging and established artists.

The Tantric Shaman plays Friday, April 19, 2013 at 10 pm at Dixon Place. Tickets will be $12 in advance, $15 at the door, and can be purchased online at www.dixonplace.org.