Hiroaki Umeda: assimilating and Moving State 1

CONTEMPORARY DANCE | NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

Friday, March 20 at 7:30 pm—Followed by a Private Gathering for Artists and Members
Saturday, March 21 at 7:30 pm—Followed by an Artist Q&A

“Engaging… Like a tin man with oil flowing freely through his veins…” — The New York Times
“Cool, minimalist, high-tech hip-hop…” — Infinite Body, Eva Yaa Asantewaa

Hiroaki Umeda’s choreography and eye for digital design have been celebrated throughout Europe, Asia, South America and the U.S. Critically acclaimed for his almost impossibly fluid movement style bordering on street dance – subtle, radical, and provocative – his dance pieces frequently synthesize ultramodern video, dramatic lighting and crackling soundscapes as interlocking components interacting with moving bodies on stage. Now, this slick avant-garde mastermind returns to Japan Society with a double bill of his latest cutting-edge projects from Tokyo. Moving State 1, performed by four protege female dancers from Umeda’s Somatic Field Project who have fully absorbed his sleek, oiled movements and assimilating, Umeda’s signature solo performance, operate within a dance aesthetic where refined physicality merges with cyberart.

Hiroaki Umeda: assimilating and Moving State 1 is part of a North American tour produced and organized by Japan Society, NYC that will make additional stops at Bowker Auditorium (Amherst, MA; March 11), Philadelphia, PA (March 14), Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.; March 17 & 18) and OZ Arts (Nashville, TN; March 26 – 28).

---

Images: Moving State 1 © Sugawara Kota; Hiroaki Umeda © Aya Tarumi

Hiroaki Umeda: assimilating & Moving State 1 is supported by a grant from The Harkness Foundation for Dance. Additional support is provided by Sowaka.

The Yukio Mishima Centennial Series: Emergences is supported by Doug and Teresa Peterson.

2025-26 Performing Arts Season Support

Major support is generously provided by Doug and Teresa Peterson, Howard Gilman Foundation, Jun Makihara and Megumi Oka, and Robin B. Stern. Endowment support is provided by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund, John and Miyoko Davey Foundation, and a leadership gift from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Program support is provided by The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Hisamitsu America, Inc., Paula S. Lawrence, Akiko Mikumo, Hiroko Onoyama, Jeanette C. Takamura, Nancy and Joe Walker, Estate of Alan M. Suhonen, and other Performing Arts supporters.

A heartfelt thank you to all who contributed in honor of Yoko Shioya’s 20th anniversary and ensure the continued success of the Performing Arts Program, including the Globus Family, Cheryl Henson, Laurent Hermout, Merit E. Janow, Eri Kakuta, Jun Makihara and Megumi Oka, Doug and Teresa Peterson, Richard and Momona Royce, Lyndley and Samuel Schwab, Shiseido Americas, Robin B. Stern and Jeffrey Stern, and Lance Stuart.

All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. Is the official airline of the Japan Society Performing Arts Program. Yamaha is the official piano provider of Japan Society.

2025-26 Japan Society Season Support

Japan Society arts and culture programs are supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Japan Society’s 120th anniversary initiatives and related programs are generously supported by Champion Sponsor, MUFG Bank, Ltd.; Advocate Sponsor, Mizuho Americas; and Friend Sponsor, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas).