Haruko Nishimura
DIRECTOR / CHOREOGRAPHER / PERFORMER

Work as Director / Choreographer
Since co-founding Degenerate Art Ensemble (formerly The Young Composers Collective) in 1993, Haruko has produced a consistent stream of original and adventurous works combining physical theater and butoh dance with live experimental music.  Many of these pieces are large scale works involving up to 5-15 performers and the Degenerate Art Ensemble’s 10-17 piece orchestra.   Haruko’s choreographed works have been commissioned by On The Boards, City, County and State Arts Commissions, as well as a number of private foundations and have appeared in ten countries.

Partial Listing of Major Choreographed Works with Degenerate Art Ensemble:
Sleepvessel Sheep Jan 2005 The Bridge Project at Velocity Dance Center, Seattle

Cuckoo Crow - 2004 THE CAVE (New York), Industrial Performance Project (Seattle)

Dreams From Wounded Mouth - 2003  Orph Theater (Berlin), Teatr 2 Strefa (Warsaw, Poland), KUD (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Consolidated Works (Seattle)

Holes in Her Mouth 2004 Solo dance performance at the SOIL Gallery (Seattle)

13 – 2003 Solo Dance, Theater Yugen (San Francisco),  Illuseum (Amsterdam), Intimate Stage (Seattle)

Dream Eater - 2002 Lincoln Park outdoor night performance (W.Seattle)

Nymph - 2001/2002 On The Boards International New Performance Series, Orph Theater (Berlin, Germany), Seattle Fringe Festival, Seattle Art Museum Special Event

Razor Stitch - 1999 On The Boards NW New Works, Theater Yugen (San Francisco), NW Asian American Theater

SCREAM!LionDogs - 1999 On The Boards (Special Commission for 17 piece orchestra, 3 dancers, 3 actors)

Hells Cauldron - 1998 On The Boards NW New Works, Theater of Yugen (San Francisco)

Rinko 1997/2000 On The Boards NW New Works, ODC Theater (San Francisco)

Yokai 1995 On The Boards NW New Works Festival

Yokai Stampede 1994 co-choreographed with Saiko Kobayashi at NW New Works On The Boards

Hell Courtesan - 1994 Seattle Experimental Opera, Seattle Asia Dance Festival

Children Playing in the Hour of the Ox1993- Seattle Asian Art Museum, OK Hotel (Seattle), Evergreen College (OR)

*Numerous Street and nightclub performances throughout her ten year history*

Work as Performer
As a performer, Haruko has appeared in as many as 60 performances per year over the past ten years, including performances in her own group Degenerate Art Ensemble, as well as in other ensembles including San Francisco/Berlin based InkBoat, Holland based R.A.M.M. Theater and others.  These performances have taken place throughout the US West Coast, New York, Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, France, Netherlands and Italy.

Partial Listing of performances as dancer (other than Degenerate Art Ensemble performances)-
As dancer with Meg Stuart and Damaged Goods: At the Table kaait theater (Brussels) 2005 improvisation performance project

As Dancer for San Francisco and Berlin based Ink Boat: (Founded by Artistic Director Shinichi MOMO Koga, inkBoat digs into the shadow side of human nature, breaking down barriers between dance and music, horror and humor to re-infuse meaning and possibility into the performance experience. InkBoat’s works have been presented throughout Europe, Japan and the North American Hemisphere.)

CockRoach - 2000-2002, Schloss Brollin (Germany), Fabrik Potsdam (Germany), San Francisco Butoh Festival, Seattle Butoh Festival, Theater Artaud (San Francisco)

Onion - 2002 Yurba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco) San Francisco Street Performance Festival - 2001 & 2002

9/11 Tribute Performance - Pfefferberg Dance Festival (Berlin) 2001

As performer with Netherlands based R.A.M.M. Theater  - KANA THEATER (Szczecin, Poland) and Exit... Fesitval Schloss Brollin (Germany)

As performer with Seattle's Dappin’ Butoh - performance at Seattle Fringe Festival

Work as an Organizer
Degenerate Art Ensemble/ Young Composers Collective - In 1993, Haruko co-founded The Young Composers Collective which has since become Degenerate Art Ensemble.  Over the past ten years, she has co-organized and served as artistic director for 30-60 shows per year, including dance works, music concerts, street performances and residencies.

Performance Potluck Salon - She has also founded and produced a free to the public monthly showcase of short works in progress in all fields of art at her Seattle home she calls “The Performance Potluck Salon” with a 12th salon coming up this summer.  She sees this series as a great way to bring the arts community together and to try new ideas in a relaxed and supportive environment.

Street / Site Specific Performances - Haruko has consistently brought her performance ideas into the public with street performances that both engage an confront the public.  In 2003, characters from her dance work “Dreams from Wounded Mouth” made a two hour procession along the entire length of Seattle’s Broadway during a Saturday midnight bar rush hour.  In the Summer of 2002, her “Dream Eater” took place in Lincoln Park, in which 100 spectators were blindfolded after dark, and led with ropes along a 20 minute winding path to the eventual performance area located in the center of the woods.

Works to Support Other Organizations - Haruko has brought her work to benefit events for many Seattle area arts organizations including COCA, Secluded Alley Works, Vera Project, Performance Art Network and others.

Work as a Composer / Musician
Haruko has composed and recorded numerous works for The Young Composers Collective, including film scores for Fritz Lang’s silent classic Metropolis (performed at Gas Works Park to a crowd of 10,000), and Douglass Fairbanks’ The Gaucho (performed at Fremont Outdoor Cinema).  She was also TYCC’s pianist.  Now she is the experimental vocalist for Degenerate Art Ensemble’s big band garage orchestra, with whom she has performed numerous Seattle shows and four European Tours over the past four years.  Haruko is also currently the lead vocalist for The Buttersprites, an all Asian Girl Band based in Seattle.

Education
Yumiko Yoshioka - butoh dance studies

Shinichi Momo Koga - butoh dance, Tadashi Suzuki’s avant garde  theater method , physical theater studies

Tazue Kiyono Sasaki - Japanese classical dance studies

Robin Hunt - Suzuki Theater Studies

New England Conservatory - music performance

Cornish College of the Arts - music performance