inkBio and History
inkBoat
Founded by Shinichi Iova-Koga in 1998, inkBoat is a performance collective built by and with the collaborative efforts of choreographers, dancers, musicians, visual artists, directors and actors.
Working in fractured, filmic, delicate and decayed environments, inkBoat’s performances evoke both the traditional and the experimental, drawing heavily from movements (political, artistic, personal) of challenge. Each performance is a dialogue between the apparent and hidden worlds.
All collaborators are independent visionaries that assemble according to project parameters. Living in San Francisco, Berlin, New York, Tokyo and Seattle, these artists contribute to projects as called upon. Whether site-specific or in a theater, the surrounding environment plays a key role.
Venues (for both film and live performances) have included ODC (San Francisco), The Lincoln Center (Dance on Camera, NY), Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (SF), JCC (SF), Japan Society (NY), Red Cat (LA), Theatre Artaud (SF), Noh Space (SF), San Francisco International Arts Festival, New York Butoh Festival, The Southern Theater (MN), Temple University (PA), San Francisco Butoh Festival, Dance Mission (SF), Venue 9 (SF), On The Boards (Seattle), Vancouver Dance Festival, Kunsthaus Graz (Austria), Dock 11 (Berlin), Pfefferberg (Berlin), Orph Theatre (Berlin), Fabrik Potsdam (Potsdam, Germany), Schloss Bröllin (Bröllin, Germany), i-camp (Munich), Attitudes Festival (Nancy, France), Divadlo Disc (Praha), Strasnicke Divadlo (Praha), Plan B (Tokyo), Strange Fruits (Tokyo), The Pit (Tokyo), Die Pratze (Tokyo) as well as various site specific performances at ocean sides, in old buildings and shrines.
Shinichi Iova-Koga and inkBoat have received funding from Rockefeller Foundation MAP fund (2002, 2006, 2010), The Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation (2009), San Francisco Art Commission (2009, 2010), Creative Capital (2005), Irvine Foundation/Dance USA (2002, 2006), Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (2002), Japan Foundation (2007), Zellerbach Family Fund (1997-2007), Meet the Composer (2001), Barkley Fund (1997), American Composers Forum (1999), CASH grant (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006) and the California Arts Council (1999-2001).
Shinichi Iova-Koga and inkBoat are current artists in residence at ODC.
Shinichi
Iova-Koga
Dana Iova-Koga
COLLABORATORS:
Yuko Kaseki
Allen Willner
Sheila Antonia Bosco
Sten Rudstrøm
Dohee Lee
Sherwood Chen
Frank Lee
Haruko Nishimura
Joshua Kohl
Takuya Ishide
Heini Nukari
Dan Rathbun
Nils Frykdahl
Carla Kihlstedt
Cassie Terman
Eric Koziol
Jason Ditzian
Guest Directors:
Ernie Lafky, Marc Ates,
Ellen Sebastian Chang
Former collaborators:
Tanya Calamoneri, Kinji Hayashi,
Alenka Mullin-Loesch, Erin Blendu,
Paige Sorvillo, Moe! Staiano,
Leigh Evans, Eugenio Brodbeck,
Nate Fredenberg, Jon Birdsong,
Ming Tsao, Matthew Waldron, Mary Lois Hare.
Guest Performers:
Jewlia Eisenberg, Yuri Nagaoka,
Ksenia Vidyaykina, Dawn McCarthy,
Nina Rolle, Jennifer Fong, Seth Eisen,
John Doyle, Molly Barrons,
Isak Immaneul, Iue Chua