Photo by: Aya Tarumi
Choreographer and multidisciplinary artist Hiroaki Umeda is recognised as one of the leading figures of the Japanese avant-garde art scene.
Since the launch of his company S20, Umeda has toured internationally to audience and critic acclaim and is acknowledged for his strong digital background, holistic artistic methodology, and for incorporating physical, optical, sensorial and spatiotemporal components. His interest in choreographing time and space has also led to work as a composer, lighting designer, scenographer and visual artist.
Solo works such as Adapting for Distortion (2008), Haptic (2008), Holistic Strata (2011) and split flow (2013) combine digital imagery, minimal soundscape and potent corporeality, and have transfixed audiences at major festivals and theatres worldwide. In the choreographic project “Superkinesis” (2009–2019) Umeda worked with dancers of distinct physical backgrounds to explore kinetic languages and the environment. Since 2010, Umeda has created installations exploring optical illusion and physical immersion. A series of works combining visual and physical sensation earned him the Prix Ars Electronica, Honorary Mention, in 2010. In 2014, Umeda launched the “Somatic Field Project” to nurture young dancers and develop his movement method “Kinetic Force Method”.
Umeda is appointed the first choreographer of their new choreographer system at Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse No.1 from 2022.
