Eseohe Arhebamen
Encyclopedia
Eseohe Arhebamen also known as Edoheart (born Obehioye Eseohe Ikhianose Oghomwenyenmwen Cleopatra Anne Arhebamen) is a poet, dancer, singer, performance artist and visual artist. Eseohe was born in Zaria
, Nigeria
on April 9, 1981 and is descended from a royal family of the Benin Empire
. Eseohe Arhebamen’s great-grandfather Osazuwa Eredia was the Oba N’Ugu and enogie of Umoghumwun, making her a royal descendant and princess. “The foundation of the kingdom of Ugu, with its capital at Umoghumwun has been traced to Prince Idu, the eldest son of Oba Eweka I.”
. At age 17 she enrolled in the University of Michigan
at the Residential College. Although strongly encouraged to pursue medicine as a career path, Eseohe instead followed her passion for poetry, language and the arts. As an undergraduate student Eseohe focused on literary means and performance as a way to affect social change. While at the University of Michigan, Eseohe won prestigious awards for her writing and is included in a University of Michigan Anthology of Hopwood Award winners.
and worked with children in impoverished inner-city schools to expand their literary skills. After moving to New York in 2003, Eseohe founded the company EdoHeart also written as Edoheart which became her performance name. Eseohe Arhebamen is synonymous with Edoheart.
Eseohe received her BA from the University of Michigan
in Creative Writing and Literature in August, 2005, and went on to receive another BA in Studio Art with a minor in English from Hunter College
. Eseohe also studied Butoh
dance with Yukio Waguri.
Areas of interest in Eseohe Arhebamen’s experimental work are imaginative creation of alternate environments, and poetry and vocal expressions as a source for movement. She has choreographed and taught or led workshops involving these areas of interest at The Living Theatre
and Columbia University
’s Teacher’s College. Eseohe Arhebamen has appeared on Korean television and news, and in American, Estonian and Latvian newspapers.
dance with singing, talking and experimental vocalizations. She refers to this dance style as Butoh-Vocal Theatre. Eseohe Arhebamen's Butoh-Vocal Theatre style arises out of her work in poetry, music and the traditional Edo theater in which performers dance and sing simultaneously and is influenced by her expressed belief in a common lingual history between the Edo people of Nigeria and the Japanese. On September 26, 2010 Eseohe gave a performance at a Yukio Waguri intensive workshop demonstrating her style of Butoh-Vocal Theatre during which she danced butoh while singing Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
.
Eseohe’s notable performance during the Fifth Diverse Universe tour was described by Kaarel Kressa as embodying natural elegance and femininity; with poetry, dance and song that won the hearts of the audience. Eseohe's performances have also been called "powerful ritual".
, and grandson of Minoru Yamasaki
, Japanese-American architect best known for designing the World Trade Center
. The two live in Brooklyn, New York
.
2003 Seeding the Clouds (Ornithology Press)
2010 Monsoon in Ibadan (Clinical Archives)
2010 Wa Domo Edo (Edoheart)
2009 The Hunger Artist (Eseohe)
2009 Blue Butterfly Butoh
2009 The Cement Factory
2009 #18 / Number 18
2009 eAir Butoh Sketch
2008 Fire Butoh 3 Visuals
2008 Fire Butoh 3
2008 Fire Butoh 2
2008 Es Su Casa
2007 Fire Butoh 1
2007 The N Word
2009 Low Lives, Jorge Rojas
2009 Kunsti Aastaraamat, Parnu Linnavalitsuse kultuuriosakond (Cultural Department of Parnu City Government), Printon Printing House
2009 세계 실험예술의 메카, 홍대 앞 - 인터넷서점 인터파크도서
2006 The Hopwood Awards: 75 Years of Prized Writing, University of Michigan Press
2006 The New Spend Less Revolution, Harriman House
2002 Environmental Justice Initiative First Place Award, University of Michigan
2002 College Unions Poetry Slam National Champion First Place, Ohio Invitational
2000 Writer-in-Residence, InsideOut Literary/Arts Project
2000 Arthur Miller Award (Fiction)
2000 Jeffrey L. Weisberg Memorial Prize in Poetry
2000 Hopwood Minor Poetry Award
2000 Hopwood Underclassmen Fiction Award
1998 Residential College Fellowship, University of Michigan
Zaria
Zaria may refer to:*Zaria, a city in Kaduna State, Nigeria*Zaria , or Zoria, the Slavic goddess of beauty*Countess Zaria of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg, a member of the Dutch royal family...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
on April 9, 1981 and is descended from a royal family of the Benin Empire
Benin Empire
The Benin Empire was a pre-colonial African state in what is now modern Nigeria. It is not to be confused with the modern-day country called Benin, formerly called Dahomey.-Origin:...
. Eseohe Arhebamen’s great-grandfather Osazuwa Eredia was the Oba N’Ugu and enogie of Umoghumwun, making her a royal descendant and princess. “The foundation of the kingdom of Ugu, with its capital at Umoghumwun has been traced to Prince Idu, the eldest son of Oba Eweka I.”
Early life
Eseohe Arhebamen is the oldest of five siblings and frequently played a parental role in their upbringing. At the age of seven Eseohe's family immigrated to the United States and settled in Detroit, MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. At age 17 she enrolled in the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
at the Residential College. Although strongly encouraged to pursue medicine as a career path, Eseohe instead followed her passion for poetry, language and the arts. As an undergraduate student Eseohe focused on literary means and performance as a way to affect social change. While at the University of Michigan, Eseohe won prestigious awards for her writing and is included in a University of Michigan Anthology of Hopwood Award winners.
Career
At 19 years old, Eseohe earned a position as Writer-in-Residence with InsideOut Literary Arts Project in Detroit, MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
and worked with children in impoverished inner-city schools to expand their literary skills. After moving to New York in 2003, Eseohe founded the company EdoHeart also written as Edoheart which became her performance name. Eseohe Arhebamen is synonymous with Edoheart.
Eseohe received her BA from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in Creative Writing and Literature in August, 2005, and went on to receive another BA in Studio Art with a minor in English from Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
. Eseohe also studied Butoh
Butoh
is the collective name for a diverse range of activities, techniques and motivations for dance, performance, or movement inspired by the movement. It typically involves playful and grotesque imagery, taboo topics, extreme or absurd environments, and is traditionally performed in white body makeup...
dance with Yukio Waguri.
Areas of interest in Eseohe Arhebamen’s experimental work are imaginative creation of alternate environments, and poetry and vocal expressions as a source for movement. She has choreographed and taught or led workshops involving these areas of interest at The Living Theatre
The Living Theatre
The Living Theatre is an American theatre company founded in 1947 and based in New York City. It is the oldest experimental theatre group still existing in the U.S...
and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
’s Teacher’s College. Eseohe Arhebamen has appeared on Korean television and news, and in American, Estonian and Latvian newspapers.
Butoh Vocal-Theatre Invention
Eseohe Arhebamen is the first performer to combine Japanese ButohButoh
is the collective name for a diverse range of activities, techniques and motivations for dance, performance, or movement inspired by the movement. It typically involves playful and grotesque imagery, taboo topics, extreme or absurd environments, and is traditionally performed in white body makeup...
dance with singing, talking and experimental vocalizations. She refers to this dance style as Butoh-Vocal Theatre. Eseohe Arhebamen's Butoh-Vocal Theatre style arises out of her work in poetry, music and the traditional Edo theater in which performers dance and sing simultaneously and is influenced by her expressed belief in a common lingual history between the Edo people of Nigeria and the Japanese. On September 26, 2010 Eseohe gave a performance at a Yukio Waguri intensive workshop demonstrating her style of Butoh-Vocal Theatre during which she danced butoh while singing Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 musical film adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, directed by Mel Stuart, and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. The film tells the story of Charlie Bucket as he receives a golden ticket and visits Willy...
.
Eseohe’s notable performance during the Fifth Diverse Universe tour was described by Kaarel Kressa as embodying natural elegance and femininity; with poetry, dance and song that won the hearts of the audience. Eseohe's performances have also been called "powerful ritual".
Marriage
In 2006, Eseohe married long time sweetheart Seth Yamasaki, son of Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Taro YamasakiTaro Yamasaki
Taro Yamasaki is a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, and the eldest son of Minoru Yamasaki.- Early life :Taro Yamasaki was born Taro Michael Yamasaki on December 19, 1945 to Minoru Yamasaki and Teruko Hirashiki in Detroit, Michigan. He is the second of three children...
, and grandson of Minoru Yamasaki
Minoru Yamasaki
was a Japanese-American architect, best known for his design of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, buildings 1 and 2. Yamasaki was one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century...
, Japanese-American architect best known for designing the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
. The two live in Brooklyn, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Poetry books
2010 Jesus of All Niggers, Poems 1998-2009 (Laughing Mouse Press)2003 Seeding the Clouds (Ornithology Press)
Discography
2010 Shchedryk Avant Remix (Clinical Archives)2010 Monsoon in Ibadan (Clinical Archives)
2010 Wa Domo Edo (Edoheart)
2009 The Hunger Artist (Eseohe)
Film and video
2009 Excerpt of Fire Butoh 3 for the Low Lives Exhibition2009 Blue Butterfly Butoh
2009 The Cement Factory
2009 #18 / Number 18
2009 eAir Butoh Sketch
2008 Fire Butoh 3 Visuals
2008 Fire Butoh 3
2008 Fire Butoh 2
2008 Es Su Casa
2007 Fire Butoh 1
2007 The N Word
Anthologies and catalogues
2009 Diverse Universe Festival 2005-2009, Academia Gustaviana Selts Mty2009 Low Lives, Jorge Rojas
2009 Kunsti Aastaraamat, Parnu Linnavalitsuse kultuuriosakond (Cultural Department of Parnu City Government), Printon Printing House
2009 세계 실험예술의 메카, 홍대 앞 - 인터넷서점 인터파크도서
2006 The Hopwood Awards: 75 Years of Prized Writing, University of Michigan Press
2006 The New Spend Less Revolution, Harriman House
Awards
2006 Poet of the Day, Poets Against the War2002 Environmental Justice Initiative First Place Award, University of Michigan
2002 College Unions Poetry Slam National Champion First Place, Ohio Invitational
2000 Writer-in-Residence, InsideOut Literary/Arts Project
2000 Arthur Miller Award (Fiction)
2000 Jeffrey L. Weisberg Memorial Prize in Poetry
2000 Hopwood Minor Poetry Award
2000 Hopwood Underclassmen Fiction Award
1998 Residential College Fellowship, University of Michigan