Ayako Kato

Described as “moving everyday sculptures, artfully cast in naturalness” (Luzerner Zeitung, Switzerland), Ayako Kato, a kinetic philosopher/poet and 2023 United States Artist Fellow, is a contemporary experimental choreographer/dancer/improviser originally from Yokohama, Japan. Since 1998, Ayako Kato/Art Union Humanscape has been in deep collaboration with over 100 musicians and composers, presenting in Europe, Asia, and the US. Advocating the principles of fūryū, Japanese for “wind flow,” cyclical transformation and motion in nature, Ayako creates solo, ensemble pieces, and movement installations for traditional stages and large scale site-specific locations. In 2025, Ayako toured Japan and Taiwan as Suzuribako music and dance ensemble and also presented ETHOS: Ways of the Wind in collaboration with the University of Colorado Colorado Springs through the Heller Fellowship Award. In 2024, she presented ETHOS IV: Degrowth/Cycle Rebirth at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago Spotlight Festival and the Grant Park in collaboration with Chicago Park District's Night Out in the Parks, being supported by the Sybil Shearer Fellowship at Ragdale 2024, a 2023 National Dance Project (NDP) Grant Finalist Award, and A. Montgomery Ward Foundation. In early December 2024, Ayako performed as a part of the Black Air exhibition curated by Amelia LiCavoli at the Casino Luxembourg Forum d'art contemporain. 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, and dance anatomy under Irene Dowd.

Find her at ayakokatodance.com