Kokoro Dance
About
Theatre Society
Taking its name from the Japanese word kokoro - meaning heart, soul and spirit - Kokoro Dance creates deeply evocative and provocative performances. Inspired by the Japanese art form known as butoh, Kokoro Dance fuses the aesthetics of East and West. Since 1986, Kokoro Dance has created and performed works for the proscenium theatre, for site specific environmental locations, for young audiences in schools, and for impromptu improvisations in jazz night clubs. The company has performed across Canada, in the United States, in Europe, and in South America.
Kokoro Dance Theatre Society acknowledges that its work is presented on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and TsleilWaututh Nations. Kokoro Dance Theatre Society was incorporated as a non-profit society in Vancouver, British Columbia on July 31, 1986. Its mandate is to re-define the meaning of Canadian culture through teaching, producing and performing new dance theatre with an emphasis on multi-disciplinary collaboration and cross-cultural exploration.
Kokoro Dance Theatre Society is registered as a charitable organization with Revenue Canada (Charitable Tax #: 11898 6777 RR0001). Donations are tax-deductible and would be gratefully accepted.
About The Butoh of Kokoro Dance
Kokoro Dance
Directors and Staff
Theatre Society
Hirabayashi
Artistic Director
Jay Hirabayashi is a renowned Japanese Canadian dancer, choreographer, teacher, and artistic director best known for his work in contemporary dance with the Paula Ross Dance Company, Karen Jamieson Dance Company, EDAM, and Kokoro Dance. With his life partner, Barbara Bourget, he is co-founder of Kokoro Dance and the Vancouver International Dance Festival in Vancouver, British Columbia. Born to a Japanese American family, Hirabayashi’s artistry is deeply influenced by his heritage and his commitment to exploring themes of identity, social justice, and the human condition....
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Bourget
Artistic Director
Barbara Bourget is a Canadian dance icon renowned for her pioneering contributions to contemporary dance and butoh in Canada. She co-founded the Kokoro Dance Theatre Society in Vancouver in 1986 with her life partner, Jay Hirabayashi, and with him also co-founded the Vancouver International Dance Festival in 2000. Known for her passionate and evocative performances, Barbara has pushed the boundaries of contemporary dance through her unique blend of Western and Japanese butoh techniques, creating emotionally charged and visually striking pieces.....
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Hirabayashi
Executive Director
Jo Kiyoshi Hirabayashi 平林 (he/him/they) is an interdisciplinary artist, filmmaker, and musician, born and raised on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh (Squamish), and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations – otherwise known as Vancouver. As a fourth generation (Yonsei 四世) Japanese Canadian/American, his familial background includes a combination of Quaker German, War Bride British, Quebecois, and Indigenous ancestry. Jo enjoys solving technical issues for artists in the hopes that they can be less sad and more creative. It’s a futile endeavor.
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Salomé
Nieto
Associate Artistic Director
Recipient of the 2017 Vancouver International Dance Festival Choreographic Award, Mexican-born Salomé Nieto is a Vancouver-based artist renowned for her transformative works and evocative performances. With a trajectory spanning over thirty years as a dance educator, interpreter, choreographer, and arts administrator, her work today draws inspiration from Butoh, her Mexican culture, and intersectional feminism. She considers the significance of ritual and ceremony during process and performance in contemporary dance and explores themes of spirituality and indigeneity through interdisciplinary collaborations.....
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Nieto
Associate Artistic Director
Recipient of the 2017 Vancouver International Dance Festival Choreographic Award, Mexican-born Salomé Nieto is a Vancouver-based artist renowned for her transformative works and evocative performances. With a trajectory spanning over thirty years as a dance educator, interpreter, choreographer, and arts administrator, her work today draws inspiration from Butoh, her Mexican culture, and intersectional feminism. She considers the significance of ritual and ceremony during process and performance in contemporary dance and explores themes of spirituality and indigeneity through interdisciplinary collaborations.....
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Kokoro Dance
Board of Directors
Theatre Society
Smith
Board President
Seaton
Board Treasurer
Tamaki
Board Member
Ferguson
Board Member
Natasha
Zippon
Board Member