Claire Cunningham

©Colin Mearns

Claire Cunningham is a performer and creator of multi-disciplinary performance based in Glasgow, Scotland. One of the U.K.’s most acclaimed and internationally renowned disabled artists, Cunningham’s work is often rooted in the study and use/misuse of her crutches and the exploration of the potential of her own specific physicality with a conscious rejection of traditional dance techniques (developed for non-disabled bodies) or the attempt to move with the pretense of a body or aesthetic other than her own. A self-identifying disabled artist, Cunningham’s work combines multiple art forms and ranges from the intimate solo show ME (Mobile/Evolution) (2009), to the large ensemble work 12 made for Candoco Dance Company. In 2014, she created a new solo: Give Me a Reason to Live, inspired by the work of Dutch medieval painter Hieronymus Bosch and the role of beggars/cripples in his work, and the full length show Guide Gods, looking at the perspectives of the major Faith traditions towards the issue of disability. She is a former Artist-in–Residence at the Women of the World Festival at the Southbank, London and of the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queens. In 2016, she was the Artist in Residence with Perth International Arts Festival, Australia and Associate Artist at Tramway, Glasgow, and she has recently been awarded an Unlimited Commission for a new duet, The Way You Look (at me) Tonight with choreographer Jess Curtis which has now toured in the U.K., U.S.A., and Germany.

Satoru Kimura

Born in 1971 in Togane, Chiba Prefecture, Satoru Kimura is an associate professor at Japan Women’s University. His specialties are aesthetics and dance studies. For over 15 years he has been a critic of dance and other performing arts. He mainly writes reviews for publications such as Bijutsu Techo and artscape. His essays include “Odorukoto to Mierukoto: Hijikata Tatsumi no Butohron wo Megutte” [To Dance and to See: On the Butoh Theory of Hijikata Tatsumi] (2003, received a prize at an art criticism essay competition organized by Bijutsu Shuppan-Sha) and publications include Mirai no Dansu wo Kaihatsu suru: Fijikaru Aato Seorii Nyuumon [Developing Dances of the Future: Introduction to Physical Art Theory] (2010). Since 2014, he has served as director of BONUS , a platform for dance creations. So far BONUS has held three events (Cho-renketsu Creation) and carried out activities designed to promote fresh dance creations by providing contemporary themes to dance artists.