Artist Statement
I have always dreamed of having a magical closet door that takes me to different places. Being born in Japan and coming to the United States as an immigrant, I have always loved traveling places and seeing the day-to-day activities of the locals. My choreographic works are samples of my vision and embodiment of the world that I build in my head. I am fascinated by how movement can substitute for ordinary things. Through movement, I create alternatives to colors, smells, temperature, and other elements of the objective world. This gives me unlimited resources to build anything I imagine. By putting my work on stage, I hope to bring visitors into my world and have them meet the residents who inhabit the realm I create.
Being exposed to different cultures and self-reflecting are essential to my creative process. Once, my dream as a young person was to be fully immersed in the American culture and just become part of it. However, I have learned over time that I can appreciate what I am experiencing now because I have an identity as someone from a different culture. Through dance, I strive to create an opportunity for people to discover what they have not seen or felt before, regardless of whether it is beautiful or ugly. I hope my work will become one of their resources, something they can look back upon later in their lives