Taku Ando, PhD
Dance artist/ Dance researcher

Dance theory, practice and pedagogy
Taku Ando is a dance researcher and artist. He specializes in teaching creative practice in the field of contemporary dance, such as improvisation technique, use of mental imagery and spatial concepts for structuring dance sequences, and somatic approaches to movement education.
The key concept of his dance research and practice is to utilize an ability to imagine and interact with kinesthetic imagery, which is a type of imagination and visualization involving sensory experiences of movement, in the process of generating movement.

Experiential learning in movement
His class is open to people who are interested in expressions of human movement. In his class, students discover their communicative use of energy by understanding and experiencing the dynamic quality of the movement.

His teaching method focus on three types of learning experiences in movement:
First, students learn how to generate movement materials, which is achieved through the process of working on problem-solving type of creative tasks. Then, by analyzing and practicing the movement materials derived from the tasks, students enhance their ability to perceive dynamic qualities of movement. Finally, students learn how to communicate their ideas about movement in terms of subject areas other than dance, such as phenomenology, recent studies in cognitive science, and philosophy of mind. In his class, students are expected to develop their ability to speak clearly about creative process of movement expressions with those who are not dance practitioners, which he believes is essential for creating dialogue between researchers, scientists and artists.

Recent work
In Spring 2014, he completed his doctorate at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, where he developed an improvisation method that involves both the use of kinesthetic image and a particular type of spatial imagery, now practiced and presented in Mix performance series (2013–). He published an international academic thesis as a second author under the title; Geometry, embodied cognition and choreographic praxis.

History:
2014: Complete PhD in Dance [Creative Practice](Spring, 2014)
2009-2014: Research Degree Programme at Trinity Laban
2010-2012: Specialist Diploma in Choreological Studies
2006-2009: Independent Study Programme Certificate at Trinity Laban
2005-2006: Professional Diploma in Dance Studies at Trinity Laban, London

Award:
2013: The Lesley-Anne Sayers Research Award
2012: The Specialist Diploma in Choreological Studies with Distinction
2007: The Sylvia Bodmer Memorial Fund Award prize for outstanding achievement in Choreological Studies

Journal:
2014: Jonathan Owen Clark(1), Taku Ando(2) (2014).Geometry, embodied cognition and choreographic praxis, International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, Volume 10, issue 2. pages 179-192.

Conference Experience
2009: Laban International Conference, London, UK, 2008

Teaching Experience:
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London, UK
– A guest lecture and demonstration in Choreological Studies for the 2nd year BA, and also Dance Diploma of One Year Programme, 2007-2014
– A guest teacher for MA Choreography at TrinityLaban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, 2013
Scuola Teatro Dimitri, Verscio, Switzerland. Master Campus Theater(MA), 2010

Taku Ando