Hiroaki Umeda
Hiroaki Umeda
Born in Tokyo in 1977, Umeda began creative activities in 2000, forming the group S20. The work while going to a condition that he presented at the Yokohama Dance Collection R in 2002 caught the attention of Rencontres Choregraphiques Internationals festival director Anita Mathieu, who praised him by hailing “the birth of a promising young choreographer” and inviting him to perform at her festival. In 2003, he presented the work Finore in Montreal, Canada, and in 2004 the work Duo in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After a short period of residence at the studio of Philippe Decouflé, he presented the work Accumulated Layout in 2007 as a joint production with the Chaillot National Theatre of Paris. He has performed by invitation at Belgium’s Kunsten Festival, the Barbican Centre in London, the RomeEurope Festival, Paris’ Pompidieu Center and other major international festivals and theatres in Europe and other parts of the world. In his works he does not only the choreography and dancing but also the video, sound and lighting by himself, thus leading to descriptions of Umeda as a visual artist and mover, rather than just a choreographer and dancer. In this way he has won acceptance in areas outside the dance world as well.