Ayako Kato
Ayako Kato | Photo credit Benjamin Wardell
Ayako Kato is a contemporary choreographer and dancer. Her practice is in deep collaboration with music and grounded on the principles of furyu, Japanese for “wind flow”, as it relates to cyclical transformation and human motion in nature. An enduring wellspring has been the writings of 17th century haikai poet Matsuo Basho, whose pursuit of furyu was influenced by Taoist Zhuangzi. Seminal to Ayako Kato’s understanding of nature as the path and teacher for dance is Basho’s travel diary“…there is something in my body which keeps swaying and easily ripped by wind…because of this, I ended up becoming a useless poet…follow nature, be one with nature….(Record of a Travel-Worn Satchel).”
Fellow in Residence 2021 | Ayako Kato | Photo credit Benjamin Wardell
The Fellowship Project
During the Fellowship year at HCL, Ayako Kato develops the second and third part of ETHOS, an aesthetic and physical inquiry about an ideal ethos of humanity and how it is perceptible through dance. It is a study of furyu nuance, from three perspectives about the movement of humanity: looking at the past from the present day; looking at the present day from the past; and finally, perceiving the past, the present, and the future as one. She sees the three perspectives as intricately intertwined and connecting humanity to the cosmos, as a result of her comparative studies of Stoicism and Taoism, travel to Omphalos of Delphi, believed by the ancient Greeks to be the center of the world, and learning about the Yoruba concept of Iwa Pele, or Good Character, which advises listening to the universe.
The quarantine and expected recovery year from the pandemic plays a transformational part of Ayako Kato’s personal and artistic journey toward “nature-multicultural centrism advocacy”. She plans to write about her observations on the principles furyu from the experience of dance, movement, and improvisation as paths to open, grounded, centered, independent, and interdependent healthy being. In addition, the writings of Thomas Myers (Anatomy Trains), on fascia and myofascial meridians; Resmaa Menakem (My Grandmother's Hands), and George Cajete (Native Science), and others are stimulating directions for household tasks, from balcony composting and gardening to adapting dance workshops she has been teaching at Hamlin Park since 2012.
In addition, Ayako Kato plans to use the Fellowship at HCL for her long-form experimental music and dance ensemble work with Suzuribako, her collaboration unit with violist Frantz Loriot (France/Japan) and saxophonist Sebastian Strinning (Switzerland), in anticipation of their Japan tour previously scheduled for later in 2021.
Open Labs: LUCA/Res Communis: ETHOS Episode III
For the Open Labs on June 10, Ayako Kato presented the in-progress performance of LUCA/Res Communis: ETHOS Episode III, which premieres October 15, 2022 at Palmisano Park. Conceived and choreographed by Ayako in collaboration with twelve cast members: guidance performers, musicians, and dancers, the live performance incorporates installation, meditative experimental activities through a loosely guided nature walk. ETHOS Episode III connects attendees to the land, to the past, present, and future Indigenous people among us, and the residents of nearby neighborhoods Pilsen, La Villita, and Chinatown.
Open Labs June 10, 2022 | Photo Credit: Ricardo Adame, 2022, LUCA/Res Communis: ETHOS Episode III in-progress performance
Collaborators include Aztec Dance Chicago leader and vocalist-storyteller Susana Ollin Kuikatl Tekpatzia Bañuelos (Aztec Nahua), performer Joseph Lefthand (Cheyenne-Arapaho, Taos, Zuni descent), water storyteller Danielle Gallet, and musician Ambrosio Martinez (Aztec Dance Chicago).
ETHOS Team LUCA Dancers: Tuli Bera and Darling Squire (Team LUCA Co-Leaders), and Sophie Allen, Silvita Diaz Brown, Angela Gronroos, Carla Gruby, Lydia Jekot.
Artist Bio
Described as “moving everyday sculptures, artfully cast in naturalness” (Luzerner Zeitung, Switzerland), Ayako Kato is a kinetic philosopher/poet, originally from Yokohama, Japan. Since 1998, Ayako Kato/Art Union Humanscape has been pursuing contemporary experimental dance/choreography/improvisation in deep collaboration with over 80 musicians and composers, presenting in Europe, Japan, and the US. Advocating the principles of fūryū, Japanese for “wind flow,” cyclical transformation and human motion in nature, Ayako creates solo, ensemble pieces, and movement installations for traditional stages and large scale site-specific locations. Ayako received the Sybil Shearer Fellowship at Ragdale 2024 and a 2023 National Dance Project (NDP) Grant Finalist Award in preparation for ETHOS IV: Degrowth/Cycle Rebirth which premieres April 19 & 20, 2024, a 2023 United States Artist Fellowship, the 2022 Esteemed Artist Award from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events; the 2021 Artist Fellowship Award in Choreography by the Illinois Arts Council; 3Arts Residency Fellowship at Camargo Foundation, France, and Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, CA; a 3Arts Award; Meier Achievement Award, High Concept Labs Fellowships; the Best of Dance by the Chicago Tribune; a Links Hall Co-MISSION Fellowship; the Hall of Fame by Newcity Stage's 50 People Who Really Perform for Chicago; a Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist Award and beyond. She is grateful for everyone who has supported and guided her to move forward together with her belief that dance has power to uplift people and generate peace.
Since 2010, Kato has been an artist in residence at the Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater under Chicago Moving Company's Dance Shelter Program. She has been studying dance anatomy under Irene Dowd since 2007. In addition to classical ballet and modern dance, she also studied Tai Chi, Noh Theater, and Butoh with master Kazuo Ohno, one of the founders. She holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Michigan and a certificate from the Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance of Wesleyan University.
For more information, visit ayakokatodance.com.
