Yuiko Masukawa
Choreographer, Performer
I am a Japanese choreographer and dancer based in Melbourne, working with the classical form in contemporary contexts. Although I am a young artist, I have had a full career as a principal ballet dancer. This project is the result of a series of structured professional development activities to support the transition from ballet dancer to choreographer.
I graduated from WAAPA in 2011 and was a principal artist with Melbourne City Ballet for 7 years (2012-2019), touring across Australia, New Zealand and Japan performing principal roles for more than 15 seasons. As a choreographer with MCB, I created works for each contemporary season as well as more than 10 full-length ballets for Melbourne City Youth Ballet in my role as artistic director. My work was nominated for outstanding achievement in youth dance at the 2018 Australian Dance Awards.
Throughout my classical career, I have also worked collaboratively bringing choreography to contemporary works with Madeleine Flynn & Tim Humphrey (The Karaoke Project – Yokohama 2018), Sam Mcgilp, Harrison Hall & Makoto Uemura (Running Machine – Kinosaki International Arts Centre 2019), Bec Reid (LGBT Elders dance club 2017) & Theatre Nottle (Very, Very Fantastic – Seoul 2013).
In 2019, I received an Ian Potter Cultural Trust Grant to undertake a series of structured choreographic secondments with the New York City Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet and Japanese contemporary choreographer, Toru Shimazaki. In 2020, I received an Australia Council Adapt grant to continue development of Running Machine, as well as support from the City of Melbourne and Creative Victoria for an initial development of this new work, After Party. A second development of After Party was also supported by Creative Victoria and the Besen Family Foundation in 2021.
In 2021, I created a new work, Zephyr, for Lucy Guerin Inc and Phillip Adams’ BalletLab’s Out of Bounds program. Zephyr is continuing development through 2021 and will premiere at the Bowery Theatre supported by a Brimbank Council Be Bold residency. I have also been selected this year as a participant of Dancehouse’s Emerging Choreographers Program.
In my emerging choreographic practice, I am seeking to apply the inclusive and iconoclastic ethos of contemporary inclusive practice to my expertise in classical movement, which is reflected in the creative rationale for this project.
