# Yoshiko Chuma > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Yoshiko_Chuma > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Yoshiko_Chuma.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshiko_Chuma > Source revision: 1338835939 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) [[File:Chuma lozupone 1115 a 07 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Yoshiko Chuma performing at [La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club](/source/La_MaMa_Experimental_Theatre_Club) in NYC in 2025]] {{Nihongo|'''Yoshiko Chuma'''|中馬 芳子|Chūma Yoshiko|extra=born in [Osaka](/source/Osaka), [Japan](/source/Japan)}} is a [dancer](/source/dancer), a [choreographer](/source/choreographer) and the director of the [Bessie Award](/source/Bessie_Award) winning [performance art](/source/performance_art) group The School of Hard Knocks.Dunning, Jennifer. (March 25, 1979) "Miss Chuma and Dennis Dance". ''[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)''. [https://www.nytimes.com/1979/03/25/archives/miss-chuma-and-dennis-dance.html article preview]. Retrieved 2008-08-05.[Kriegsman, Alan M.](/source/Alan_M._Kriegsman) (October 11, 1987) [https://archive.today/20130131165759/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/73850052.html?dids=73850052:73850052&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=OCT+11,+1987&author=Alan+M.+Kriegsman&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=The+Week+of+Giant+Steps;New+York+City+Ballet+Headlines+D.C.'s+Intensive+Days+of+Dance&pqatl=google The week of giant steps] ''[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)''. Retrieved 2008-08-05. Described in 2007 by [Bloomberg](/source/Bloomberg_L.P.) as "a fixture on New York's downtown scene for over a quarter-century", her work spans from early "absurdist gaiety" to more recent serious reflection, which nevertheless represents the "maverick imagination and crazy-quilt multimedia work" for which the artist is known.Tobias, Tobi. (January 15, 2007) [https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aIn5njOPtHX4&refer=muse Chuma's crazy-quilt choreography returns to Chelsea: N.Y. Dance] Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2008-08-05. Dance commentators have found her work difficult to classify; in a 2006 profile, ''[Dance Magazine](/source/Dance_Magazine)'' speculated that "One might call her a postmodern choreographer, a movement designer, or a visual artist whose primary medium is human beings--dancers, musicians, pedestrians". Chuma favors [abstract](/source/abstract_art) art and discourages efforts to interpret her work, telling Bloomberg that "What I do is ambiguous. I don't have a statement. If I had a statement, I'd be a writer". In 2007, Chuma received a Bessie Award honoring her sustained achievements as a choreographer. {{Wikinews|Dancer Yoshiko Chuma performs at the Children’s Magical Garden in New York City}} ==Biography== Chuma arrived in the United States from her native Japan in 1977, settling in [Manhattan](/source/Manhattan) and subsequently becoming a leader in modern American dance. In 2007, ''[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)'' remarked on her involvement "in one of the great populist moments in New York dance" when, in 1988, she staged an audience-participatory performance art swim-dance in the [Astoria](/source/Astoria%2C_Queens) pools in [Queens](/source/Queens).Dunning, Jennifer. (August 25, 2007) [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/25/arts/dance/25solo.html?_r=1&ref=dance&oref=slogin Spirited reminders of a time long gone] ''The New York Times''. Retrieved 2008-08-05. Her avant-garde pieces have included the seven-hour-long "Sundown", an exploration of [cubism](/source/cubism) mounted at Issue Project Space in 2006.Kourlas, Gia. (July 29, 2006) [https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/29/arts/dance/29chum.html?ref=dance For Dance, a Cubism of a different sort]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved 2008-08-05. In addition to directing The School of Hard Knocks, Chuma also directed the [Daghdha Dance Company](/source/Daghdha_Dance_Company) of Ireland, commuting internationally between 2000 and 2004. ==Influences== Chuma cites American television as a major part of her childhood, and critics have detected influence in her "raucous dance/music/theater spectacles on American pop themes". She has also been inspired by [Japanese cinema](/source/Japanese_cinema). Specific art influences include the school of [minimalism](/source/minimalism) and the [opera](/source/opera) ''[Einstein on the Beach](/source/Einstein_on_the_Beach)''. After meeting notable [beat poet](/source/beat_poet) [Allen Ginsberg](/source/Allen_Ginsberg), she incorporated into her dances his philosophy on spontaneity, encapsulated in his phrase "First thought, best thought."Deresiewicz, William. (April 8, 2001). [https://www.nytimes.com/books/01/04/08/reviews/010408.08deresit.html First Thought, Best Thought] ''The New York Times''. Retrieved 2008-08-05. Chuma also credits artist [Alex Katz](/source/Alex_Katz) and [composer](/source/composer) [Alvin Curran](/source/Alvin_Curran) as among her diverse inspirations. ==The School of Hard Knocks== thumb|video still from Yoshiko Chuma's performance at Children's Magical Garden in NYC in 2025 The School of Hard Knocks, more fully titled "Yoshiko Chuma & The School of Hard Knocks,"Smith, Amanda. (December 1, 2006) [http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-28894006_ITM The magic pilgrim: intuition, humor, and a unique perspective inspire Yoshiko Chuma's work.] ''[Dance Magazine](/source/Dance_Magazine)''. Retrieved 2008-08-05. was founded in 1982 and is located in New York City.Temin, Christine. (October 20, 1985) "Yoshiko Chuma Dance 'From Zero to 20'" ''[The Boston Globe](/source/The_Boston_Globe)''. [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BG&p_theme=bg&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADEB1BE590A59A&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM Excerpt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012180730/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BG&p_theme=bg&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADEB1BE590A59A&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |date=2012-10-12 }} Retrieved 2008-08-05. The name was inspired by Chuma's interest in [American](/source/American_English) [idiom](/source/idiom)s during her early days in the United States. In 1984, the group received a Bessie Award for its Collective Work.Danspace Project. [http://www.danspaceproject.org/about/pressreleases/CompleteList.pdf Past recipients] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719024629/http://www.danspaceproject.org/about/pressreleases/CompleteList.pdf |date=July 19, 2011}}. Retrieved 2008-08-05. ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==Further reading and listening== *[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEFD61530F934A15752C0A961948260&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss ''Big Picture'' (1987) review], ''The New York Times''. *[http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-10776713_ITM Daghdha Dance Company review (2001)], ''Dance Magazine'' *[http://www.colindunne.com/irishtimes_yellowRoom.php ''Yellow Room'' (2003)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708174754/http://www.colindunne.com/irishtimes_yellowRoom.php |date=2011-07-08 }}, ''Irish Times'' *[https://archive.today/20130205131817/http://www.villagevoice.com/2006-08-08/dance/framing-sevens/ ''Sundown'' (2006) review], ''[Village Voice](/source/Village_Voice)'' *[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/24/arts/dance/24chum.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=all ''A Page Out of Order: M'' (2007) review], ''The New York Times''. *[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9503E3D71F39F931A25752C0A96F9C8B63 ''X2'' (2009) review], ''The New York Times'' *[https://web.archive.org/web/20090808151735/http://www.villagevoice.com/2009-01-14/dance/cedar-lake-freezes-while-yoshiko-chuma-thaws/2 ''X2'' (2009) review] ''[Village Voice](/source/Village_Voice)'' *[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/arts/dance/19chum.html ''POOM2'' (2008) review], ''The New York Times'' *[https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/22/arts/dance/22dance.html "Review: Yoshiko Chuma and the School of Hard Knocks, Harkness Dance Festival"]''The New York Times''. *[http://kadmusarts.com/blog/?p=549 (recorded interview with Yoshiko Chuma)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726112055/http://kadmusarts.com/blog/?p=549 |date=2011-07-26 }}, ''Kadmus Arts '' *[https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/09/arts/dance/09chuma.html ''A-C-E One'' (2010) review] ''The New York Times'' *[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fq20100219a1.html ''Hold the Clock'' (2010) review] ''Japan Times'' ==External links== *[https://ychuma.wixsite.com/headinthesand Official website] *[https://www.instagram.com/yoshikochuma/ Instagram] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Chuma, Yoshiko}} Category:Japanese female dancers Category:Japanese dancers Category:Bessie Award winners Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Yoshiko Chuma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshiko_Chuma) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshiko_Chuma?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.