ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Chizuko Kotani

Chizuko Kotani is a Japanese choreographer, dancer, and founder of P Company. As the daughter of atomic bomb survivors, she has long carried the emotional legacy of war. Her activism with the “Chernobyl Hibakusha Support Kansai” group helped transform her trauma into purpose. Now, she shares stories of survival and hope through contemporary dance works that call for peace and remembrance.

Chizuko Kotani began her dance training in the 1970s under Miyoko Fujiwara, whose powerful final performances while hospitalized left a lasting impression on her. At just 21, Chizuko took over the studio following Fujiwara’s passing and went on to found her own company, Dance Core Possible, in 1981. She also studied Martha Graham technique with the late Akiko Kanda, a trailblazer who brought Graham’s radical physical language back to Japan after dancing as one of Graham’s principal performers in New York. Chizuko’s work carries forward this lineage, grounded in the Graham technique but transformed through her own cultural and political experiences.

A native of Hiroshima, Chizuko weaves personal and historical memory into her choreography, often tackling themes such as war, nuclear energy, and the fragility of life. Like her mentor Kanda, who incorporated Japanese forms such as Noh and questioned gender roles through dance, Chizuko uses the stage as a space for social reflection. Her works fuse bodily precision with emotional depth and existential inquiry, reflecting her belief that dance is not just performance but a way of knowing, resisting, and ultimately remembering.

Nobuo Harada

Nobuo Harada is a Fukuoka-based butoh master and founder of Seiryusha (1980). A successor in the lineage of Kazuo Ohno and Akira Kasai, Harada’s performances blend profound physicality with philosophical playfulness, navigating the border between art and anti-art. He has toured widely in Japan and abroad, bringing butoh’s quiet power to audiences across cultures. Born in Fukuoka in 1949, he studied martial arts until seeing Akira Kasai and Kazuo Ohno perform “The Bottom of the Hill” in 1972, which led him to study under Kasaki for seven years.

P Company

Founded in 2004 by Chizuko Kotani, Kansai region based P Company features a diverse group of dancers drawn from Dance Core Possible and trained in styles ranging from ballet to improvisation. The company plays a key role in the WiSP Project, using performance as a vehicle for peace education and intercultural exchange. Last year, P Company and WiSP presented Chizuko’s “The Dropping of the Atomic Bomb” at Art Complex Hiroshima.

Azumi Oe

Azumi Oe is a New York-based butoh dancer and choreographer known for her mesmerizing, provocative, and meticulous performances. A former member of Vangeline Theater and principal dancer under butoh master Katsura Kan, she now develops experimental solo and collaborative projects worldwide. She was a 2023 artist-in-residence at Johns Hopkins PEABODY Institute and a 2024 NYFA/NYSCA Fellow in Choreography. www.azumioe.com

Chris Fiore

Chris Fiore is a filmmaker and artist whose documentary work has earned awards, including the 2024 Culver City Film Festival Audience Award and the 2025 Berlin Indie Film Festival Award for Best Artist Film. His short A Few Laughed honors the 23 Japanese fishermen exposed to fallout from the 1954 Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb test near the Bikini Islands. www.chrisfiore.com

CRS (Center for Remembering & Sharing) is a healing and cultural arts organization dedicated to exploring the intersection of spirituality, creativity, and community. CRS has presented peace-focused performances, exhibitions, and workshops for over 20 years in New York City and internationally.