Chicago-based artist Ayako Kato discusses the Japanese traditional philosophy Fūryū, (Japanese for “wind flow, cyclical transformation and motion in nature”) how it has grown to a universal perspective through her creative practice, and why it is valuable for our contemporary life. In this evening talk, Kato will also share how her path to be an artist and embodying Fūryū through dance have been intertwined with establishing her identity and sense of independence as a contemporary female artist of color and human.

This event is part of an artist residency with Ayako Kato (MFA ’98, dance), co-sponsored by the University of Michigan Department of Dance, Center for Japanese Studies, Arts Initiative, Women of Color in the Academy Project, and EXCEL Lab & Career Center.

November 19 Performance at the Dance Building, North Campus:
https://smtd.umich.edu/event/19-november-2025-6/

GUEST ARTIST BIO

AYAKO KATO has been making dances in Chicago and beyond since 1998. A 2023 United States Artist Fellow, Kato is a contemporary experimental choreographer/dancer/improviser originally from Yokohama, Japan whose company Ayako Kato/Art Union Humanscape has been in deep collaboration with over 100 musicians and composers, presenting in Europe, Asia, and the US. She holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Michigan and published her book Art of Being through Emptiness through Casino Luxembourg- Forum d’art contemporain in December 2024. ayakokatodance.com