Benjamin Akio Kimitch
Benjamin Akio Kimitch is a dance artist and producer based in Brooklyn, NY. He is influenced by his Japanese American heritage and formative training in Chinese dance. Kimitch is the recipient of a 2023 Bessie Award for Outstanding Choreographer/ Creator and a three-year Mertz Gilmore Foundation Dancer Award. In 2023, he began an ongoing, collaborative U.S./ Japan research project with choreographer Yasuko Yokoshi. Up next, Kimitch has been awarded a 2024 – 2026 Live Feed commission at New York Live Arts. His choreography has been commissioned and presented in NYC by The Shed (Bessie Award), The Noguchi Museum, The Kitchen, Danspace Project (Bessie Nomination) and a 2024 commission from Princeton University. He has been awarded artistic residencies at Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography, Movement Research and Brooklyn Arts Exchange. From 1994 – 2003 he studied Chinese folk and classical dance in Minneapolis, and in 2007, trained at Shanghai Theater Academy School of Traditional Opera. He holds a BFA in dance from Tisch School of the Arts. Alongside his artistic practice, Kimitch is producer for new opera, music, theater and dance at Perelman Performing Arts Center – PAC NYC.
