Mikiko KAWAMURA

Mikiko Kawamura is a Japanese dancer and choreographer.

Born in 1990, Kawamura graduated from the Department of Dance at Japan Women’s College of Physical Education. Described by dance scholar Tatsuro Ishii as “an enfant terrible of the dance world, as if she had fallen from another planet” (Dance New Air, 2014), her practice extends beyond the theatre to include performances in public spaces and other site-responsive contexts.

Since beginning her professional career in 2011, she has presented more than 20 choreographic works and performed in 33 cities across 16 countries.

Among her awards are the Next Generation Choreographer Award and the Audience Award at the TOYOTA Choreography Award, as well as the Jury Prize and the French Embassy Prize for Young Choreographers at Yokohama Dance Collection EX 2015.

Following a six-month artist residency based at the French National Dance Centre CCN/R, with research and creation across Paris, Lyon, Grenoble, Marseille, Cannes and Le Havre, she premiered LA FLEUR ÉCLÔT EN ENFER (Flower Blooms in Hell).

Kawamura’s performances include N.P., a film by Lisa Spilliaert based on the novel by Banana Yoshimoto; The Bacchae – Holstein Milk Cows, written and directed by Satoko Ichihara; and Naoto Iina’s film San (三), presented as part of TOKYO REAL UNDERGROUND at Tokyo Tokyo FESTIVAL Special 13, in which she performed a complete reconstruction of Tatsumi Hijikata’s Hōsōtan. More recently, she choreographed the Shirabyōshi dance for the animated work World Is Dancing.

Alongside her choreographic practice, Kawamura writes essays and composes original songs. Since 2022, she has been working with Taishi Watanabe as the performance duo Iroha (異路派). In 2024, she launched Kawamura Industry, an independent label producing made-to-order knitwear and handmade accessories.