Stopgap Dance Company and Yukio Suzuki Launch Two-Year International Collaboration.
Left: Stopgap's Disabled and non-disabled dancers in a wooden dance studio. in the centre, Senior Dance Artist Hannah Sampson, a white person with Down Syndrome. She kneels low, sideways, as she twists her chest to the ceiling, arms out wide to balance and head tipped back to look at the camera. Behind her other dancers move and connect. Right: Yukio Suzuki, a Japanese dance artist finds a moment of stillness, eye soft and closed, arms half-raised. He wears a white shirt with an undone bowtie, a stark contrast to the black background.
When we met, we were breathing the same air. As I listened to your story, I heard my own voice.
Stopgap Dance Company has teamed up with acclaimed Japanese dance artist Yukio Suzuki for an exciting new project called Beyond!
Drawing on years of connection and shared artistic ideas, this new collaboration brings together Stopgap’s inclusive approaches with Yukio’s unique style, influenced by the Japanese dance form Butoh.
The project will take shape over the next two years, with intensive creation periods being hosted in the UK and Japan, during which we will be sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses and early showings of the creative process in both countries.
Beyond! will culminate with a final piece premiering in 2026.
About Yukio Suzuki
Yukio is a Japanese choreographer and dancer who constantly explores techniques that transcend conventional dance, he has received high praise at international festivals such as the Sibiu International Theatre Festival and TANEC PRAHA. His work has taken him around the word, where he collaborates with people of all ages, to create works that freely express the body and senses, stimulating individuality and sensitivity.
Both domestically and internationally, Yukio continues to promote diversity through the power of physical expression.
Find out more about YukioGet a first glimpse
Tuesday 2 September, 3pm
Farnham Maltings
We’ll be opening the doors after the first week of intensive creation for a relaxed sharing at our base in Farnham, Surrey.
Project credits
Yukio Suzuki
Choreography, Composition, Direction
Lucy Bennett
Co-Director
Nao Ashimine
Choreography Assistant
Mignon Riggs
Access
Monique Dior Jarrett, Hannah Sampson, Sora Suzuki
Cast (UK Version)
Junko Hanamitsu
Producer
Yukio Suzuki and Stopgap Dance Company - International collaboration work committee
Organisers
Japan Foundation
Co-organiser
Yukio Suzuki and Stopgap Dance Company - International collaboration work committee, Japan Foundation
Co-production
British Council
Cooperation
Expo’70 Fund, Saison Cultural Foundation, Arts Council England
Funding
NPO Kaibunsha and Yukio Suzuki projects
Production support
