Mayu. N

Dancer | Choreographer | Founder of MNiverse Originally from Tokyo, Japan | Based in New York City As a dancer, Mayu has worked with Obremski/Works, Helen Simoneau Danse, SAXYN Dance Works, Li Chiao-Ping Dance (Wisconsin), rogue wave with Catherine Messina, Six Degrees Dance, One Day Dance, iKADA Contemporary Dance Company, sarAika Movement Collective, Yoshito Sakuraba, and Faustine Lavie. Her artistic foundation includes ballet, piano, swimming, capoeira, and gymnastics. She developed her dance technique and creative voice at Tokyo Metropolitan High School of the Arts and the University of Tsukuba, studying under Kaori Kagaya and Kazuyuki Futami in Japan, and later at The Ailey School in New York (2019–2021). From 2016 to 2019, she presented her choreographic works at competitions throughout Japan and South Korea, receiving several awards as both a dancer and choreographer. Since relocating to New York in 2019, her choreographic works have been presented at festivals and performance venues across New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Japan. Mayu continues to dance because she has experienced firsthand the profound beauty and transformative power of contemporary dance. Through both performance and choreography, she hopes to share that experience with others. In a world filled with countless artists, she continually questions her own presence, purpose, and perspective. Choreography has become a way to investigate these questions while deepening her understanding of herself and the world around her. Believing that the mind and body are inseparable, she is deeply interested in observing human behavior, emotions, and relationships. Her choreographic practice explores the invisible spaces between people—the differences in memory, perception, experience, and ways of understanding one another. She is particularly drawn to the contradictions of being human, shaped simultaneously by instinct and society. At the core of her creative practice is the belief that every human experience holds the possibility of hope. Rather than relying on theatrical effects, she seeks moments that emerge through the authentic presence of the performer—moments that cannot be fully expressed through words alone. Her work is dedicated to investigating how these genuine moments can arise in real time through the body. To continue this exploration, Mayu founded "MNiverse", an evolving creative platform for developing collaborative contemporary dance projects. Through MNiverse, she creates spaces where artists with diverse experiences, bodies, and perspectives can come together, revealing new possibilities for human connection through movement. --- 中谷眞弓 / Mayu Nakaya 東京都出身。幼少よりクラシックバレエを学び、高校からコンテンポラリーダンスと振付を始める。東京都立総合芸術高等学校舞台表現科コンテンポラリーダンス専攻、筑波大学体育専門学群卒業。片岡康子、二見一幸、加賀谷香、平山素子に師事。 2016年から2019年にかけてソロおよびグループ作品を創作し、日本・韓国の舞踊コンクールで多数受賞。受賞作品はINNOVATION WORLD FESTA、座・高円寺、片岡康子主宰「DANCE HOUSE」などで上演される。また、加賀谷香、二見一幸、柳本雅寛、柿崎麻莉子らの作品にも出演。 2019年にニューヨークへ渡り、The Ailey Schoolで2年間研鑽を積む。現在はプロフェッショナルコンテンポラリーダンサー・振付家として活動し、複数のプロジェクトベースのカンパニーで公演・ツアーに参加するほか、コンテンポラリーダンスカンパニーへの作品提供やニューヨーク内外での創作・発表を行っている。 自由と多様性が尊重されるニューヨークを拠点に、コンテンポラリーダンスだからこそ生まれる「今、この瞬間を生きる身体」の魅力をより多くの人と共有したいという思いから、クリエイティブ・プラットフォーム "MNiverse" を設立。ダンスを通して人と人が心でつながる場を創造し続けている。