Ema Yuasa
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
Ema Yuasa started dancing in Hiroshima, Japan. In 1999 she entered the Académie de Danse Classique Princesse Grace under the direction of Marika Besobrasova, where she graduated at the top of her grade in 2001. After dancing at Dresden Ballet (2002), and Ballet de l’Opéra de Nice (2003), in 2004 she joined NDT2 and later in 2006 she joined NDT1. There she worked and performed pieces from Jiri Kylian, Mats Ek, William Forsythe, Ohad Naharin, Hans van Manen, Paul Lightfoot, Sol León, Crystal Pite, Johan Inger, Tero Saarinen, Syusaku Takeuchi, Wayne McGregor, Stephan Toss, Marco Goecke, Medhi Walerski, Alexander Ekman, Gabriela Carrizo & Franck Chartier (Peeping Tom), Sharon Eyal & Gui Behar, amongst others.
In 2010 she started choreographing at the annual NDT event SWITCH, and a few of her pieces were chosen to be performed in Korzo Theatre. In 2012 she choreographed a site specific dance piece at the small island of Inu-Jima in Japan. In 2014 she choreographed for young dancers for the NDT’s Summer Intensive Dance Course. Kronos Quartet offered her to join as guest dancer. This is where she choreographed a solo for Prelude to a Black Hole.
In November 2015 she started freelancing, joined Idan Sharabi&Dancers, Opto by Rei Watanabe, danced as a guest dancer in the Royal Swedish Ballet and performed Sasha Waltz’s Körper and danced as Juliet in Mats Ek’s Juliet and Romeo.
Ema collaborated with many different artists such as pianist Tomoko Mukaiyama (in Home and Gaka), fashion designer Tamae Hirokawa (enchaîne, XHIASMA), architect Tsuyoshi Tane, Japanese Noh performer Noboru Yasuda and media artist Akira Wakita. She joined Eastman in 2016 and was part of Les Indes galantes, Satyagraha, m¡longa, Nomad and the theater piece Pluto by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. She was awarded the 13th Japan Dance Forum Award for her achievements as a dancer and choreographer in 2018.