About

Born and raised in Japan and a resident of New York since 1976, Eiko Otake is a movement–based, interdisciplinary artist. After working for more than 40 years as Eiko & Koma, she now performs as a soloist and directs her collaborative projects.

Eiko & Koma

After studying with Kazuo Ohno and Tatsumi Hijikata in Japan and Manja Chmiel in Germany, Eiko & Koma created 43 performance works and three durational “living” installations. They were, commissioned by the American Dance Festival, BAM Next Wave Festival, Joyce Theater, Kennedy Center, the Museum of Modern Art, the Walker Art Center, and the Whitney Museum among others. In addition to performing their own choreography, Eiko & Koma handcrafted their own sets, costumes, and sound.

The Retrospective Project (2009–2012, produced by Sam Miller) culminated in two exhibitions, screenings of media works, and a comprehensive monograph, Time is Not Even Space is Not Empty, published by the Walker Art Center. Eiko & Koma were the first collaborative pair to share a MacArthur Fellowship (1996) and the first Asian choreographers to receive both the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award (2004) and the Dance Magazine Award (2006). They were honored with the inaugural United States Artists Fellowship (2006) and the first Doris Duke Artist Awards (2012).

Solo Work and A Body in Fukushima

Eiko’s solo project, A Body in Places, began with a 12-hour performance at the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia in 2014. Since then, she has performed site-specific variations of A Body in Places at over 70 sites. In 2016, Eiko was the subject of the 10th annual Danspace Platform, a month-long curated program that brought her a special Bessies citation, an Art Matters grant, and the Anonymous Was a Woman Award. Battery Park City, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC,) and New York University’s Skirball Center co-commissioned Eiko’s monologue performance, Slow Turn, for the 20-year anniversary of 9/11.

Eiko’s multi-dimensional project, A Body in Fukushima, is a decade-long collaboration with historian/photographer William Johnston. Since 2014, they visited Fukushima, Japan five times to record Eiko performing alone for Johnston’s camera in irradiated landscapes affected by the 2011 nuclear meltdowns. Eiko has presented these photos in many exhibitions, lectures, memorial events, and performances. Their book of photography and essays, A Body in Fukushima, was published in 2021. A feature length film of the same title premiered in 2022 at the Museum of Modern Art’s Doc Fortnight Festival and was selected for the 2024 Yokohama Triennale.

The Duet Project

In 2017, Eiko launched her multi-year Duet Project, a mutable and evolving series of experiments in collaborations. Eiko has worked with artists as diverse as David Harrington, Ishmael Houston-Jones, Wen Hui, Joan Jonas, DonChristian Jones, Iris McCloughan, Beverly McIver, Mérian Soto, and her late grandfather, Chikuha Otake. The project has produced dance performances, talking duets, public dialogues, lectures, paintings, videos, and films.

I Invited Myself

In 2021, Eiko started her ten-year project, I Invited Myself, which exhibits and advocates for videos and films that she has created over the last 40 years. Working closely with museum and gallery curators, Eiko considers how viewers experience her media works in the space. For different iterations at Art Institute of Chicago, the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center, the Asian Arts Initiative in Philadelphia, and Fabric Workshop and Museum also in Philadelphia, Eiko applied different logics and themes in selecting and installing her works. At all sites, she produced new videos, performed her interventions, and offered public dialogues. Her films have also been screened in many film festivals.

Teaching

Eiko teaches an interdisciplinary course that combines movement study with a focus on mass violence and nuclear issues. She teaches at New York University, Wesleyan University, and Colorado College, which awarded her an honorary doctorate degree in 2020.

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