TORU SHIMAZAKI
Choreographer
Toru Shimazaki began to choreograph while he was the director of the Ballet Department of the Sitter School of Dance in Canada, 1989-91. He has since choreographed extensively in Europe, America and in his native Japan for many dance companies including Japan's National New Tokyo Theatre, Grand Theatre de Geneve, The Royal Ballet of Flanders, Hubbard Street Dance of Chicago, Introdanse, Singapore Dance Theater and Colorado Ballet among others. Mr. Shimazaki has been on the jury of international ballet competitions, including The Shanghai International Ballet Competition, and Prix de Lausanne where he was in charge of the compulsory choreography for the contemporary dance division, from 2001 to 2003. Toru Shimazaki is "casting partner" for "Cirque du Soleil" in Japan. In 2004, he was invited to participate in the American Dance Festival's (ADF) International Choreographers Commissioning Program. In that same year, his work, "River", was chosen to represent "today's Japanese contemporary dance" at the Association of Performing Arts Presenters Annual Conference. Toru Shimazaki also was commissioned to choreographe the Austrian musical "Elizabeth". He is presently the Directing Professor of The Dance Program in the Music Department of Kobe Jogakuin College, Japan.
KIMIHO HULBERT
Dancer-Choreographer
Born in Belgium to a Japanese mother and an English father, Kimiho Hulbert began her classical dance training at the age of 5 with her mother, Mitsuyo Kishibe in Japan. She then studied at the Stedelijk Instituut voor Ballet in Antwerp, Belgium from 1991-1993, joining Colorado Ballet in 1994 and the New National Theater Ballet, Tokyo in 1997. While still actively dancing, she began her career as a choreographer, creating her own company �gUnit Kimiho�hin 2001. Ms. Hulbert has had her works commissioned by numerous companies and schools including the New National Theater Ballet, New National Theater Ballet Apprentice School, Tokyo City Ballet, NBA Ballet, Aoyama Theater Productions, Royal Ballet School of Antwerp (Belgium) and Het National Opera (Netherlands). As a teacher and coach of contemporary dance, Kimiho Hulbert has had success creating special variations for students entering international ballet competitions including Prix de Lausanne and Youth American Grand Prix. In 2007 Ms. Hulbert produced "Garden of Visions" for her "Unit Kimiho", receiving Best Rookie Award from On Stage Newspaper and in 2010 she won the Audience Prize for "White Fields" at the Toyota Choreography Award. Ms. Hulbert works both nationally and internationally creating works that feature our connections with nature and to each other, working as a dancer and choreographer in both classical and contemporary fields.
