Tsuchi is a solo interdisciplinary performance piece. It draws from Mitsu's great- grandfather’s experience of immigrating from Japan to Hawaii as a farmer and then pursuing his dream of becoming a high-end waiter. The piece delves into and obscures his life and then branches out to the stories of Mitsu's, the Hawaiian queen and a steel guitar musician. The work explores questions of family and travels through Butoh, contemporary dance, and everyday movements with music and text. The work is a collaboration between Mitsu and sound artists Alyssa Moxley, Kevin Carey and Mike Hero. Development of Tsuchi was sponsored by High Concept Labs and supported by a residency at the Chicago Cultural Center and Oxbow.
"Relating aspects of her heritage and cultural identity channeled Proust-like through her recent experience working as a server in a sushi restaurant and combining space-composition techniques that incorporate unusual interactions, including balancing a pineapple on her head as she moves, for instance, or baptismally dousing her head with alcohol as a statement of immersion. Simultaneously moving, informative and at times heart-wrenching, the ambitious scale of Salmon’s work continues to impress." - Newcity
Best collaborative multimedia dance performance 2015- Newcity
Top 5 best emerging
Midwest Nexus Touring Grant
This piece has been presented in various forms and works in progress. Each performance is unique and connected to the space and theme of the event.
2018 Iowa University as part of Midwest Nexus Touring Grant in a split bill with Michael Sakamoto
2017 Trade Routes at Links Hall as part of Midwest Nexus Touring Grant in a split bill with Michael Sakamoto
2016 Asquared Asian American Performance Festival at Links Hall, Chicago
2016 Echo at the Studebaker Theater, Chicago
2015 Primary Care at Julius Caesar Gallery, Chicago
2015 Residency Culmination for High Concept Labs, Chicago
2015 Residency Culmination for the Chicago Cultural Center
2015 Post-Butoh Festival at the Chicago Cultural Center