Oguri

For the last 26 years, Oguri has taught, created, and produced dance and multimedia work that investigates the relationship dance has to environment and considers the boundaries between performer and audience. Oguri’s inspiration to dance came after meeting Butoh founder Hijikata Tatsumi, and, in 1985, he started performing with Mai-Juku, the company of acclaimed dancer Min Tanaka. In 1991, Oguri moved to Los Angeles and formed Body Weather Laboratory LA with dance Roxanne Steinberg. Then, he formed ARCANE Collective in 2011 with Morleigh Steinberg, touring full productions.

Oguri has developed collaborative projects with musicians, sculptors, painters, and poets, using imagery of daily life and simple materials to transform space and time with dance. He incorporates large-scale sets and sculpture installations in his multimedia works and uses dramatic, often chiaroscuro lighting in formal theater settings and site-specific venues. Oguri has received grants and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, Metabolic Studio/Annenberg Foundation, New England Foundation for the Arts, The Rockefeller Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, The James Irvine Foundation and Dance USA, among others.

Portrait photo courtesy Morleigh Steinberg: ARCANE Collective.