Yu Shimomura

Japan

A native of Yamaguchi Prefecture, Shimomura graduated from the Faculty of Literature, Arts and Culture at Kindai University of Japan. As a choreographer, Shimomura has created his unique performing style by incorporating direct conversations with audience as part of his choreography, known as “dance communication”.

Shimomura began dancing since his university graduation. After participating in the revitalisation project of Awaji Island in 2011, Shimomura was inspired by the concept of “presenting performances beyond the conventional setting of a theatrical stage” and since intentionally creates works that take place in random boundary-less venues, such as theatres, restaurants or museums in the form of flashmob gigs and exhibitions. In 2014, Shimomura started co-creating new choreography works with musician Nii Masayuki out of their new concept “the necessity of dancing in the symbiotic relationship between humans”. Amongst this batch of new works, the Defection for Beginners series has received both the First Prize and the Porosus Foundation’s Camping 2019 Award in Japan’s most prestigious contemporary dance competition “Yokohama Dance Collection 2019”, beating 204 contestants from 35 different countries.

In 2015, Shimomura returned his role as a dancer and appeared in the choreography work of Mika Kurosawa, “Godmother” of Japan’s contemporary dance scene. Between 2014 and 2017, Shimomura has also appeared in the big screen as a guest actor.

In recent years, Shimomura focuses on the extensive development of his dance form and strives to expand the boundaries of his art. Currently he is the only contemporary dance artist that collaborates with large-scale tutorial centres in the Kansai region.