Nami Yamamoto
(NY)
2008
- Nami Yamamoto, originally from Matsuyama, Japan, graduated from New York University in 1993 with a MA in Dance Education. Since then her work has been presented in New York and elsewhere: Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Dance Theater Workshop, Danspace Project, P.S. 122, Movement Research at Judson Church, Dancing in the Streets at Wave Hill, The Kitchen (Dance in Progress), Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (Inside/Out), Community Education Center and Philadelphia Museum of the Art in Philadelphia, Studio 303 in Montreal, UC Irvine, Dance Studio Moga in Japan and most recently Contemporary Dance Festival Free Dance in Ukraine.
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Her work has been funded by Puffin Foundation, Creative Capital, Manhattan Community Arts Fund from Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Jim Henson Foundation, and Suitcase Fund from Dance Theater Workshop. She has been nurtured and inspired by her residency experience at Asian Pacific Performance Exchange in UCLA, Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Movement Research, Dance Wave in Matsuyama Japan, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Summer Theater Lab in UC Santa Barbara and Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography. In 2006, her work was commissioned by Saint Joseph Ballet and she choreographed a 30 minute piece for 40 teenagers in the school.
She has also been nurtured and inspired by collaboration works with Joyce S. Lim and received Space grants from Union Street Dance, 92nd Street Y and SUNY Purchase for In/Flux in 2003. In 2005, she traveled in Malaysia to explore with local artists in Penang.
For teaching credit, she taught Master Classes at University of California Irvine, Ehime University, Matsuyama University, Dance Wave, Dance Studio Moga in Japan, University of Penang and Malaysian Dance Festival in Malaysia. She also taught a creative movement class for children at MASS MoCA and Brooklyn New School. Through her most recent work, a howling flower, she has been teaching a puppetry/dance workshop with her collaborators, Matthew Acheson (puppet creator/puppeteer/performer) and Deana Acheson (puppetry advisor) at various venues, such as Sara Lawrence College, Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography at Florida State University, Contemporary Dance Festival Free Dance in Ukraine and The New York Robotics and Home Automation MeetUp Group.
As a dancer, she has enjoyed working with wonderful choreographers such as Yoshiko Chuma, David Dorfman, Patricia Hoffbauer, Clarinda Mac Low, Victoria Marks, David Neumann, Sara Pearson & Patrik Widrig, Karen Sherman, Cydney Wilkes, Christopher Williams, Yasuko Yokoshi and many others. In 2004, she debuted as a puppeteer in Dan Hurlin’s Hiroshima Maiden, which toured in 2005-2006. She also performed for Lake Simon’s puppet piece, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland at Here Art Center.
Currently, she serves as an artistic advisory member of Danspace Project.
a howling flower
Choreographic Fellow | February 17 – March 1, 2008
Collaborators in Residence: Deanna Acheson [puppet advisor], Matthew Acheson [puppeteer + puppet creator], Takemi Kitamura, Johanna S. Meyer, Ryutaro Mishima, Darla Villani [dancers]
For the first time during the three year development of a howling flower, the puppeteer and puppet advisor, and all cast members were together to examine the choreographic arc of the work and meticulously accentuate the nuances of Tony the puppet and dancers’ manipulations of it.
a howling flower had its world premiere at the International Contemporary Dance Festival Free Dance in Ukraine, May 16, 2008 and NY premiere at Dance Theater Workshop May 28-31, 2008.