Nami Yamamoto brings her own experience to the stage with deeply investigated movement through a long-time exploration, both on her own and with collaborators.

 She is a Bessies Award choreographer, originally from Matsuyama, Japan, and holds an MA in Dance Education from New York University (1993) and a BA in Physical Education from Ehime University (1990). Her performance work has been presented in New York and elsewhere: Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Dance Theater Workshop, Danspace Project, P.S. 122, Movement Research at Judson Church, The Kitchen, Roulette, Gibney Dance Center, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Walker Art Center, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Museum of the Art in Philadelphia, Studio 303 in Montreal, UC Irvine, Dance Studio Moga in Japan and Contemporary Dance Festival Free Dance in Ukraine. In October 2018, her work, Headless Wolf (2017) was awarded the New York Dance and Performance Award (the Bessies) for Outstanding Production. 

Currently, she is a faculty member at Lehman College and also teaches creative dance at New York City Public School through Together in Dance. She is a 2024-2025 Hodder Fellow at Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University and a USA Fellow in 2025 and exploring her new project, Future Memory (a working title), inspired by her mother who strives for her 90 years of life.

Her work has been funded by Foundation for Contemporary Arts (Emergency Grant) (2022), New York City Artist Corps (2021), Creative Engagement (2021) Manhattan Community Arts Fund from Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (2007), Jim Henson Foundation (2007), Creative Capital (2006), Puffin Foundation (2002) and Suitcase Fund from Dance Theater Workshop (2001 and 2008). She has been nurtured and inspired by her residency experience at Baryshnikov Arts Center (2022), Gibney DiP Resident Artist (2019-2021), CPR-Center for Performance Research (2020-2021), Satellite Residency Program at New Dance Alliance (2020), Movement Research (2014-2016), Brooklyn Arts Exchange (2003-2005, 2012-2013, 2019), Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (2008), Summer Theater Lab in UC Santa Barbara (2006), Dance Wave in Matsuyama Japan (2002), Djerassi Resident Artists Program (2001) and Asian Pacific Performance Exchange in UCLA (1997, 1999). 

She was commissioned by The Wooden Floor (formerly known as Saint Joseph Ballet) in 2006 and 2009 to create two original pieces for more than 50 young dancers, age 10-18. Other commissioned works are for BaxCo, a youth company at Brooklyn Arts Exchange in 2010, and YUMESENYA, a youth company from Matsuyama, Japan, in 2012.

In 2015, 2019, and 2022, she choreographed a piece with the students from Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts. You can see her work at New School at https://youtu.be/XTW_thK8WJc In 2022-2023.

She was invited to Asian Women Dance Artist Initiative by Yukina Sato, a graduate student at Ohio State University, and collaborated with Yukina’s performance piece in 2023.

In 2024, she was invited by Japan Contemporary Dance Network and Office Moga to create a work with artists/dancers in Matsuyama, Japan. They will be performing their piece on October 5th, 2024 in Matsuyama, Japan. 

She has been nurtured and inspired by two collaboration works with Joyce S. Lim and received Space Grant from Union Street Dance, 92nd Street Y, and SUNY Purchase for Wan dollah? (2000) and In/Flux (2003). In 2005, she traveled to Malaysia with Joyce S. Lim to explore contemporary movement and creative processes with the local artists in Penang, Malaysia. 

For teaching credit, she taught Master Class at Queens College (2019), Long Island University (2017), Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, The New School (2016), Ehime University (2000-present), Dance Studio Moga in Japan (1998 – present), University of California Irvine (2006), University of Penang and Malaysian Dance Festival in Malaysia (2005), Matsuyama University (2002) and Dance Wave in Matsuyama, Japan (2002). She also taught a creative movement workshop for children at East Village Community School (2015), Brooklyn New School (2005), and MASS MoCA (2000). 

As a teaching artist from Dance Makers Program at Movement Research, Nami taught at Lower East Side Preparatory High School (2015-2020), Brooklyn Prospect Charter School (2016-2021) Girls Prep Lower East Side Middle School (2017), Yorkville Community School (2020 and 2023) and PS 86 (2022). 

Through her puppetry/dance work, a howling flower, she taught a puppetry/dance workshop with her collaborators, Matthew Acheson (puppet creator/puppeteer/ performer) and Deana Acheson (puppetry advisor) at various venues, such as Sarah Lawrence College, Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography at Florida State University, Contemporary Dance Festival Free Dance in Ukraine, The New York Robotics and Home Automation MeetUp Group and Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts. She also co-taught an object/puppet/dance workshop with Patti Bradshaw and Christopher Williams through Movement Research’s Sunday Process Lab (2016). 

As a dancer, she has enjoyed working with wonderful choreographers such as Yoshiko Chuma, David Dorfman, Patricia Hoffbauer, Clarinda Mac Low, Victoria Marks, David Neumann, Sara Pearson & Patrik Widrig, Karen Sherman, Cydney Wilkes, Christopher Williams, Yasuko Yokoshi and many others. 

In 2004, she debuted as a puppeteer in Dan Hurlin’s Hiroshima Maiden, which toured in 2005-2006. She also performed for Lake Simon’s puppet piece, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland at Here Art Center. In 2014, she debuted at Lincoln Center Theater as a puppeteer/dancer of The Oldest Boy written by Sarah Ruhl and directed by Rebecca Taichman with a puppetry director, Matthew Acheson. 

In March 2020, Nami performed for Jessica Jackson Hutchins’s Restless Animal Kingdom at Marianne Boesky Gallery as a part of Jessica’s sculptural ceramics art exhibition. She performed for Jessica’s Restless Animal Kingdom at MASS MoCA in June 2022. 

In 2024, she danced for two pieces for lu yim, Sympathetic Silks -fade away and double knot at The Woods in February and Brutality of Fatigue at Performance Space New York in March.