Saori HALA : about

photo by Mana Hiraki

Saori HALA

choreographer, dancer

Born in Tokyo (1988)

Based in Tokyo

Saori Hala is a choreographer and performance artist based in Tokyo. The aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the nuclear accident at Fukushima inspired her relocation to Germany, and the start of her research into the theme of “the manoeuvred body”. Based on experiences and physical sensations of being born and raised in a disaster-stricken country, she applies human actions triggered by the environment and objects to her choreography. She draws inspiration from design theory and ecological psychology which she explored at Tokyo University of the Arts in Japan.

As a freelance artist, her works use a variety of materials including text, film, light, sound, and drawing, to propose the inseparable ways that time, space, and the body connect. In recent years, she has been fascinated by the relationship between society and the body, during the history of modernization in the East and West. Within this concept, she has been undertaking movement research on a wide range of subjects, including physical education, rituals, customs and culture.

Saori's works have been performed mainly in Japan and Europe; in 2019, a site-specific performance [no room] was presented at Dance New Air, the largest dance festival in Japan. With the support of the Pola Art Foundation and the Terumo Science and Culture Foundation, she produced [Da Dad Dada], an autobiographical multimedia performance encompassing her relationship with her twice-absent father, who passed away soon after he and Saori reunited for the first time in her young adult life. The work was shown in Japan and Germany and is scheduled to tour across Asia in 2021-2022. She is currently working as a choreographer-in-residence at Dance Base Yokohama and is developing a research project [Zekkei (Superb View)] with the support of Arts Commission Yokohama.

In 2018, she graduated with an MA in Solo Dance Performance at Berlin University of the Arts (HZT SODA). Accolades include the Choreography Prize at the Spanish International Festival of Arts and Dance, Mes De Danza, and the 9th El Sur Foundation New Talent Award for Contemporary Dance. Since 2020, she has been an Arts Commission Yokohama U39 Artist Fellow, and a Saison Foundation Artist Fellow since 2025.

ハラサオリ

振付家、ダンサー、パフォーマー
1988年　東京生まれ
ベルリン・東京在住

「環境、知覚、身体」をテーマに、自らの身体、光、音、テキスト、ドローイングなどの複合メディアを用いた上演作品を制作する。デザイン理論や生態心理学を学んだ背景から、特定の環境下での知覚体験を振付的に再解釈し、上演がもつ現実性／虚構性と関連付けながら再配置することに取り組んできた。分野横断的な活動を展開し、近年は舞台芸術だけではなく美術やファッションのフィールドからも注目を集め、ダンスの実践領域を拡張している。
綿密なリサーチや独自の創作スタイルが評価され、2020年第9回エルスール財団新人賞コンテンポラリーダンス部門を受賞。近年ではダンサーであった実父との生別/死別を扱ったセルフドキュメンタリー作品「Da Dad Dada(ダダッドダダ)」を日本とドイツの二カ国で発表。その他の作品に『after aftershock shock』『P wave』『no room』など。

近年の共演、出演、振付に森山未來、山川冬樹、大谷能生、角銅真実、小田朋美、原田知世、蓮沼執太、U-zhaan、NIKE、BLESS、オニツカタイガー、資生堂、shu uemura、カルティエなど。

東京芸術大学デザイン科修士、ベルリン芸術大学舞踊科ソロパフォーマンス専攻修了。2013年吉野石膏美術振興財団在外研修員。2017年ポーラ美術振興財団在外研修員。2020-2021年アーツコミッション横浜アーティストフェロー。2025年よりセゾン文化財団舞踊部門アーティストフェロー。