Kihako Narisawa (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist, physical performer, choreographer, and designer. Born and raised in Tokyo (JP) in 1984, she is now based in the tri-border region between Basel (CH), Freiburg (DE), and Mulhouse (FR). Her conceptual practice spans diverse media including spoken and written text, poetry, soundscapes, video, installation, physical live performance, and both visual and spatial design.

Relocating to Europe in 2002, and with over two decades of experience across its cultural landscape, her work moves fluidly between theoretical and abstract forms. She creates works that navigate cultural identities, spatial thinking, and embodied language, exploring the nuances and exchanges that arise through her transnational practice. She is committed to developing works that emerge through collaboration — engaging with people across cultures, disciplines, perspectives, and backgrounds. Her process foregrounds intercultural and intersectional research, enabling new forms of influence and exchange.

Her artistic practice is shaped by an ongoing inquiry into spatial theory, anthropological concepts, and both verbal and non-verbal forms of communication. Her understanding of choreography as a method of spatial composition underpins both her staged works and her contributions to interdisciplinary collaborations. She frequently integrates dance improvisational strategies with choreographic structures, crafting works that question visibility, cultural identity, and the role of embodied language.

In parallel with her own creations, she regularly contributes as a performer, choreographic assistant, movement director, and collaborator in research and concept development within the work of other directors, choreographers, artists, and creators across disciplines, including theatre, installation, product, and fashion. She is committed to collaborative processes that foreground marginalised perspectives, including projects led by People of Colour and any minority communities, and engages with intersectional themes and practices across her work.

Kihako
Narisawa

Choreographic & Directed Performance Works
2024 OMG — observation / motivation / glamorisation
2022 TRAJECTORY
2020 Have I ever spoken properly?
2019 wonderland
2019 a.é.p.s
2018 re/cognition
2018 into the why #3
2017 into the why #2
2017 into the why
2015 P.S.
2013 Room 49
2012 glitch
2011 silencing

Co-Directed & Co-Created Works
2025 quite quiet : girlhood — with Chihiro Araki and Miyuki Shimizu
2018 within arm’s length — with Keith Chin
2016 STUDIO ZERO — with Claudio Costantino
2015 phóné phainó phoney — with Jeremy Nedd and Fabrizio di Salvo
2015 exchange — with Jeremy Nedd
2010 Hadō — with Sakiko Nomura

Research & Development Projects
2024–2025 (Layers of Diversity) layer(s)
2023–2025 (MUSE) quite quiet
2021–2023 OMG — observation / motivation / glamorisation
2018–2019 Anti-Specificity
2017–2019 (FIGURATIVE) Have I ever spoken properly?

Visual, Graphical, Textual & Installation Works
2020 Fake Label of Art Work
2019 a journal in no time
2019 COMPO
2019 jein
2017 why do I do this?
2016 facet
2015 line
2010 tear the surface away
quite quiet : girlhood・ Choreographic Research ・ Performance・ KONOMI Festival Basel ・ 2025

quite quiet : girlhood・ Choreographic Research ・ Performance・ KONOMI Festival Basel ・ 2025

OMG — observation / motivation / glamorisation ・ Choreographic Performance ・ 2024

OMG — observation / motivation / glamorisation ・ Choreographic Performance ・ 2024

TRAJECTORY ・ Multimedia Performance ・ 2024

TRAJECTORY ・ Multimedia Performance ・ 2024

UP-CYCLING ・ collective BETTER LATE ・ Site-Specific Outdoor Performance ・ 2022

UP-CYCLING ・ collective BETTER LATE ・ Site-Specific Outdoor Performance ・ 2022

Have I ever spoken properly? ・ Participatory Choreographic Performance ・ 2020

Have I ever spoken properly? ・ Participatory Choreographic Performance ・ 2020

Fake Label of Art Work ・ Performative Scenic Installation ・ 2020

Fake Label of Art Work ・ Performative Scenic Installation ・ 2020

a journal in no time ・ Poetry ・ Performative Scenic Installation ・ 2020

a journal in no time ・ Poetry ・ Performative Scenic Installation ・ 2020

wonderland ・ Choreographic Research ・ Performance ・ with Keith Chin ・ 2024

wonderland ・ Choreographic Research ・ Performance ・ with Keith Chin ・ 2024

Anti-Specificity・ Choreographic Research ・ Creative Practice ・ with Keith Chin ・ 2019

Anti-Specificity・ Choreographic Research ・ Creative Practice ・ with Keith Chin ・ 2019

re/cognition・ Choreographic Research ・ Performance ・ 2018

re/cognition・ Choreographic Research ・ Performance ・ 2018

a.é.p.s・ Co-Choreography ・ Performance ・ with Claudio Costantino ・ 2019

a.é.p.s・ Co-Choreography ・ Performance ・ with Claudio Costantino ・ 2019

within arm's length・ Co-Choreography ・ Performance ・ with Keith Chin ・ 2018

within arm's length・ Co-Choreography ・ Performance ・ with Keith Chin ・ 2018

FIGURATIVE ・ Choreographic Research ・ Creative Practice ・ with collaborators ・ 2017-2019

FIGURATIVE ・ Choreographic Research ・ Creative Practice ・ with collaborators ・ 2017-2019

into the why #3・ Choreographic Performance ・ Video Work by De-Da Productions ・ 2018

into the why #3・ Choreographic Performance ・ Video Work by De-Da Productions ・ 2018

into the why #2・ Choreographic Performance ・ Video Work by De-Da Productions ・ 2017

into the why #2・ Choreographic Performance ・ Video Work by De-Da Productions ・ 2017

into the why・ Choreographic Performance ・ Video Work by De-Da Productions ・ 2017

into the why・ Choreographic Performance ・ Video Work by De-Da Productions ・ 2017

why do I do this?・ Choreographic Research ・ Photographic Work ・ 2017

why do I do this?・ Choreographic Research ・ Photographic Work ・ 2017

line・ Photographic Work ・ 2016-2017

line・ Photographic Work ・ 2016-2017

phóné phainó phoney・ Co-Choreography・ Performance・ with Jeremy Nedd & Fabrizio di Salvo ・ 2015

phóné phainó phoney・ Co-Choreography・ Performance・ with Jeremy Nedd & Fabrizio di Salvo ・ 2015

P.S.・ Choreographic Performance ・ 2015

P.S.・ Choreographic Performance ・ 2015

exchange・ Co-Choreography ・ Performance・ with Jeremy Nedd ・ 2015

exchange・ Co-Choreography ・ Performance・ with Jeremy Nedd ・ 2015

Room 49・ Dance Choreography ・ 2013

Room 49・ Dance Choreography ・ 2013

glitch・ Dance Choreography ・ 2012

glitch・ Dance Choreography ・ 2012

tear the surface away・ Photographic Work・ Exhibition ・ 2011

tear the surface away・ Photographic Work・ Exhibition ・ 2011

2016 – Up to Now
Freelancer Based in Germany and Switzerland
——— Collaborators & Supporters [↗︎]

2013/2014 – 2015/2016
Ballett Theater Basel
under direction of Richard Wherlock

2009/2010 – 2012/2013
Thoss Tanzkompanie
Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden
under direction of Stephan Thoss

2005/2006 – 2008/2009
Fondazione Nazionale della Danza Aterballetto
under direction of Mauro Bigonzetti

2002/2003 – 2003/2004
Cannes Jeune Ballet
under direction of Monique Loudières

2021 January
M.A. in Design
Masterstudio Design — Institute Integrative Design
Academy of Art and Design — Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst
University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland
Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz FHNW


2006 June
B.A. in Dance
Codarts — University of the Arts
Hogeschool voor de Kunsten — Rotterdamse Dansacademie

2004 June
Rosella Hightower Cannes Higher Academy of Dance
Ecole Supérieure de Danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower

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Her works and collaborations have been presented in theatres, art spaces, and site-specific contexts. Most recently, she was nominated by Hussein Chalayan as one of the selected artists for the mentorship programme for the Forecast Forum in July 2025, where she will present a new project concept at Radialsystem, Berlin. In parallel, her ongoing project quite quiet explores silence and visibility through the lens of Japanese femininity and cultural icons of the modern era, and is currently in the preparation phase for a new production at ROXY Birsfelden (CH) and Berliner Ringtheater (DE), scheduled for 2026.

Narisawa’s previous work OMG – observation / motivation / glamorisation (2024) received support from the Fonds Darstellende Künste research grant scheme #TakeHeart, as well as research trip grants from Atelier Mondial and the Goethe-Institut. As a production, the premiere was later realised as a co-production with ROXY Birsfelden. In OMG, she collaborated with artists from diverse disciplines to explore performative codes, the glamorisation of identity, and the objectification and presentation of self.

Earlier projects include TRAJECTORY (2022), presented as part of Fabula Collective’s mixed bill at Sadler’s Wells (UK), London, where she was invited as a guest choreographer, and Have I ever spoken properly? (2020), a participatory performance developed during the pandemic, which concluded her MA research and examined spatial relationships between language and proxemics. This work evolved from a series of earlier research-based projects under the title FIGURATIVE (2016–2019), in which she explored proxemics through performance and collaboration. As part of this series, she developed wonderland (2019), presented at Frankfurt LAB (DE) as the culmination of a residency with Keith Chin, which laid the groundwork for Have I ever spoken properly?. Other works within the FIGURATIVE series include into the why (2017), and within arm’s length (2018), a duet with Keith Chin presented at Festival TanzArt Ostwest in Gießen (DE); as well as re/cognition (2018), developed during a two-month residency supported by the Goethe-Institut Kanada and presented at Circuit-Est centre chorégraphique in Montréal (CA).

A collaborative work, phóné phainó phoney (2015), created with Jeremy Nedd and Fabrizio di Salvo, was presented at ROXY Birsfelden and marked her initial steps into the European independent scene, following her engagement with dance companies and state theatres. This strand of inquiry stemmed from her earlier solo piece P.S. (2015), which marked the beginning of her engagement with anthropological approaches to space and embodied communication.

Her professional stage career began at Cannes Jeune Ballet in France (2002–2004), and then Aterballetto in Italy (2005–2009) under the direction of Mauro Bigonzetti and later Cristina Bozzolini. She went on to dance with Thoss Tanzkompanie at Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden (2009–2013, artistic director Stephan Thoss), and subsequently with Ballett Basel at Theater Basel (2013–2016, artistic director Richard Wherlock). Alongside these institutional engagements, she began developing her own independent choreographic and visual works, which were presented both within the companies she worked for and in the broader European freelance scene. Over the years, she has performed in creations and repertoires by major European choreographers including William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Ohad Naharin, Johan Inger, and many others — as well as being creatively involved in works by Giuseppe Spota, Frank Fannar Pedersen, Nicole Morel, Jeremy Nedd, Alessandro Schiattarella, Zino Wey, and more.

Narisawa began her dance education in 2002 at the Ecole Supérieure de Danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower in France, where she also joined the junior company Cannes Jeune Ballet. She continued her training at Codarts – Rotterdam University of the Arts, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in 2006. In 2021, she completed a Master’s degree at the Institute Experimental Design and Media Cultures (Masterstudio Design) at the Basel Academy of Art and Design, HGK FHNW.

Kihako
Narisawa

who are you?

I don’t know right now.

at least, I know who I was when I got up this morning.

I think I must have changed several times since then.

what do you mean by that?

I can’t explain myself, because I’m not myself, you know.

I don’t know.

I can’t explain it, because I can’t understand it myself.

it's very confusing.

it isn’t.

well…

perhaps not yet.

but when you have to change someday,

you will also find it confusing.

not a bit.

well…

your feelings may be different.

all I know is — it would feel very strange to me.

you…

who are you?

I think you should tell me who you are, first.

why?

searching for invisible words