Yumi Umiumare is an established Japanese Australian Butoh Dancer, choreographer and creator of Butoh Cabaret works. She has been creating her distinctive style of works for 30 years and her creations have been seen in numerous festivals around the globe. She is a recipient of the fellowship from Australian Council (2015–16) and a winner of the Green Room Geoffrey Milne Memorial Award (2017). Yumi is artistic director of ButohOUT! festival in Melbourne since 2017 and is a key figure in the international contemporary Butoh scene. Yumi ‘s recent works focus on Dance, Spirit and Tea.

Jacqui Stockdale is a multimedia artist based in Melbourne (Naarm). She is known for her figurative paintings, drawings, staged photographs, collages and vaudevillian performance. Jacqui graduated from VCA (1990) and Hobart Centre for the Arts (1993). Recent commissions include animation for film, costume design and installation for ButohOUT! (2021/22) and portrait commissions by the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra. Stockdale has exhibited in Europe, Asia, the Americas and Australia and has work held in major collections including the National Gallery of Australia, the Museum and Art Gallery of Tasmania and the Watermill Collection USA.

Ai Yamamoto’s music practice centres around sonic exploration and melodies. She has released three albums and three EPs with Australian label room40, two with American labels Dragon Eyes Recordings and Past Present Inside. Her music appeared in 6 compilations in 2022. Ai’s works have been shown locally and internationally, including Melbourne International Arts Festival (2018), ButohOUT! (2021), Substation 2021, Bus Gallery, and Japan foundation. She has collaborated with various artists including Laurence English, Dan West, Ben Frost, Yumi Umiumare, Sofi Basseghi, and Janette Hoe.

Kayo Tamura is an accomplished performance artist who fearlessly blazes her own trail with a strong background in theory, performance, writing, and directing. Kayo is a founder and artistic director of the GUMBO Theatre Group in Osaka since 1994. The company has performed in Edinburgh, Australia, Asia and North America and has won numerous awards. In 2022, they successfully completed a six-month tour of North America and won seven awards. Kayo is a Hong Kong Fringe Club Honorary Member (2015–), Asian Youth Theatre Festival Japan Team Advisor (2018–), Kamikoma Cats Artistic Director (2017–), Sakai International Community Arts Artistic Director (2019–).

Kyoko Amara loves the scent of the soul. She is a “channeller” or clairvoyant in Japan who has held sessions with over 9000 people. Over 20 years, she has been working as a singer with shamanistic drumming. Her main work is to spiritually convey the roots of people’s souls. She has also been engaged in art and shamanistic activities through Butoh performance, painting female genitals, holding workshops for feminine liberation and ceremonies. In 2017, Kyoko moved from Tokyo to the foot of Mt. Hayachine in northern Japan to organise events in a 100-year-old folk house, “Ihatov Mountain and Water Sunshade”.