See Chicago Dance Summer 2023

Ayako Kato is a dancer, choreographer, and improviser from Yokohama, Japan. She was drawn to Chicago in 2004 and has since created an impressive body of work, inspired by a community of warm- hearted musicians and dancers. During a yearlong hiatus from dance at the age of 19, Kato encountered the haikus of historic Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō, known to have an accessible writing style that explores existential concepts of spirituality and the view that life is a journey that must be traveled constantly. This inquiry led Kato to more closely inspect traditional Japanese culture—like tea ceremonies and poetry—as well as contemporary issues. “The beauty of ambiguity to Japanese people is often misunderstood by Western people,” she explained. “I decided to study about this fūryū (windflow), which I translate to mean ‘the beauty of being as it is.’ It was at that time that I started to decolonize my body and noticed that I needed to keep dancing in order to stay sane.” Kato later moved to Ann Arbor and began studying at the University of Michigan, where one of her teachers asked her a simple yet course-altering question: “Why do you dance?” “I decided I wanted to express through dance the natural beauty in all of us,” said Kato. “I believe that everybody can dance, and I would like to excavate the natural dignity that all people have. That is my goal.” Since moving to Chicago, Kato has worked as an independent dancer and choreographer, founding Art Union Humanscape in 1998. She has built a reputation for her collaborations with an ever-growing list ofmusicians, including her husband, double bassist Jason Roebke. Dance collaborators include Chicago dance veterans along with rising stars Darling Squire, Tuli Bera, and Amanda Maraist. Kato is currently working on the next iteration of her “ Ethos ” series, with Ethos IV premiering later this year and Ethos V premiering in April 2024. With the Ethos project, she expresses the beauty of diversity, focusing on the land and land’s history. As an immigrant, Kato struggles with a sense of belonging and explores how other people feel about living in a country that is, excluding native peoples, essentially all immigrants. “We need to deepen our awareness of this vertical relationship that we have with nature and how much appreciation we have of this land. I want to keep learning about the history of this land, learning about the layers beneath us.” Visit AyakoKatoDance.com to find out about upcoming presentations of the Ethos project and other exhibitions of Kato’s work. SEECHICAGODANCE.COM | 5 Spotlight: Ayako Kato