Donna Uchizono
Choreographer
Donna Uchizono is a dance artist based in New York City and Artistic Director of Donna Uchizono Company, which has toured throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, South America and Australia.
She has been commissioned to create work for notables Mikhail Baryshnikov, Paula Vogel, David Hammons and Oliver Sacks. Uchizono is active in the community and is committed to mentorship/advocacy for young dance makers. She founded the Artist Advisory Board at Danspace Project, and initiated a panel series on issues in the Dance Field. has served as a grant panelist for various funding institutions and as a choreographic mentor for Sugar Salon, DoublePlus at Gibney Dance Center and currently through Donna Uchizono Company’s choreographic mentorship program, “Shared Choreographic Practice.”
Since 2022, Uchizono has been humbled by the by the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts distinction of being the first and only American-born choreographer of Asian ancestry in the history of Modern Dance, who has received cumulative national award recognition and toured an eponymous dance company across the U.S. and internationally. Uchizono has been tirelessly reaching out to leaders in the field and spearheading the search to address the problem of omission faced by American born/raised choreographers.
Donna Uchizono has been recognized by a Guggenheim Fellowship, United States Artist Award, Alpert Award, National Endowment for the Arts Company Project Awards (9) and Fellowships (3), MAP Fund (4), Alpert Award, “Bessie” New York Dance and Performance Award, Jerome Foundation (3), National Performance Network Commission and Touring support (4) Creative Capital, National Dance Project Commission (2) and Touring support (2), Dance Magazine, Met Life, among many other awards including extensive New York State and New York City sustained funding.
Photo by Peggy Jarrel Kaplan.