User:Alenkaloesch

Alenka Loesch, a "third generation Butoh Dancer and Costume Designer, (aka: Mullin-Koga, born Leslie Dianne Mullin, May 16, 1969 in Lubbock, Texas,) is currently a Portland Oregon based Artist with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from the University of Texas in Austin and a Masters in Inter-Disciplinary Arts from San Francisco State University. She has been a dance-theater performer, choreographer, designer, art director and teacher for over two and a half decades.

Early on, while still in high school, she played a supporting role with Actor Lou Diamond Phillips in the 1998 movie "Dakota", and soon after, played the leading role in the cult-classic B-movie "Demon Warrior". Wanting more than what Hollywood had to offer, she began to travel. While in Prague, Czechoslovakia (1990) she taught English in a girl's school and worked in Czech/Russian Theater which would inform her aesthetic for many years to come.

Alenka co-founded "uRo teatr koku" in 1992 with Shinichi Iova-Koga which, six years later (1998), morphed into "inkBoat", (Alenka inkBoat Bio) based in San Francisco/Berlin. Subsequently, Alenka was nominated for an Isabella Duncan Award (Izzy) in Costume/Set Design for inkBoat's "Cockroach". She has participated and performed in many international festivals in France, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Poland, US, and Japan. Alenka became primarily known as a Butoh dancer after 1991 when she began dancing under Hiroko, and Koichi Tamano, Koichi Tamano Japan's National Treasures. She became a touring member of "Harupin-Ha Butoh Dance Theatre" for almost a decade. Alenka is considered a "third generation Butoh Dancer". Alenka collaborated intensively with Yumiko Yoshioka and "TEN PEN CHii Art Labor".

In the late 90's, she was an artist-in-residence at "Schloss Bröllin International Theatre Research Location", (Germany: 1996-2001) and with "Antagon Aktion Theatre" (Germany:1998-1999) She collaborated with "Do Theatre" (Russia: 1997-2000), "Minako Seki" (Germany: 1998-2000), and "Yuko Kaseki" (Berlin) as well as "Michael Sakamoto" (LA/Thailand). In 2006 and 2007 Alenka toured her duet performance with Mizu Desierto entitled "ephMere" She was also a member of "Shadowlight Theatre" (USA: 1993-1997) and toured "IN XANADU" (1996) to the Public Theater in New York City at the "International Puppet Theater Festival". Over the years while traveling the world and performing, she assembled her knowledge of Butoh, choreography, and costume to create her own sagacious methods of design with a signature style.

In Portland, Oregon, she has participated in "Conduit’s Summer Dance intensive" as an instructor of Butoh and performed her solo piece "Into the Dark Unknown: Dream of a Blue Girl", with video and live score by "Holcombe Waller". In 2007 she danced in a production by "tEEth" called "HappyNormal", at PICA’s "T:BA festival" (Winter: 2007-2008) and Reed College. She has also been a guest teacher of Butoh at the Prescott College in Arizona as well as taught numerous workshops throughout the World.

More recently she has been commissioned to design costumes for the 2012-2013 Degenerate Art Ensembles' new works in Seattle/New York/Venice and beyond (...recently funded by the Guggenheim and Creative Capital), costumes for the Majestic Theater's production of "Bocon!", Antagon Theater Aktion's "FAUST" and Dohee Lee's solo work "MAGO" in San Francisco.