Director and choreographer Benjamin Akio Kimitch is developing a new work for 2026, a fantasy Japanese American court dance. The ensemble work explores the collision of global cultural movements that shaped Japanese American identity between the 1945 Hiroshima bombing and the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. At the heart of the project is Bugaku, classical dances preserved for over a millenia in Japan. Kimitch examines a seminal postwar tour by the Imperial Household musicians to New York City, and George Balanchine’s erotic ballet “Bugaku,” which followed in 1963.

Kimitch’s new work will have its world premiere in fall 2026 at New York Live Arts and is available for U.S. touring. It will be accompanied by a companion publication and public symposiums to help communities unpack the piece’s layered influences, including postwar Japanese art, U.S. soft power, and Japanese American incarceration.

World Premiere:

Fall 2026, New York City

Booking Info:

Please contact Jenni Bowman, Producer, for info on touring and engagement. jenni@showshow.co
This project has U.S. touring subsidies available through NEFA National Dance Project.