KIAC

Michael Maurissens is a Belgian choreographer, filmmaker, and cultural practitioner based in Cologne, Germany. Building upon a career in contemporary dance, he added visual media to his practice, developing an interdisciplinary practice that merges movement, film, and site-responsive research.
Through his lens, Michael reveals what is often invisible: emotional landscapes, social ruptures, ancestral rhythms, and metaphysical presence, by viewing dance and movement as a dynamic space where the body negotiates, connects, and expresses fluid forms and embodying the evolution of socially diverse societies across the globe.
Over the past two decades, his work has been presented at festivals, biennials, and cultural institutions across Europe, Asia, Africa, USA, and the Middle East. He has collaborated with choreographers, visual artists, musicians, and communities worldwide, working in contexts marked by cultural transition and layered histories. His practice navigates between the poetic and the political, crafting works that connect intimate experience to wider cultural narratives.

Tocotoco Dancers is a children’s dance company founded in 2019 in Kinosaki, a neighborhood of Toyooka City, located in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Centered primarily around elementary school–aged children, the company creates original dance works based on contemporary technique in collaboration with professional artists from diverse fields on an annual basis. Rooted in its local context, Tocotoco Dancers develops projects in close dialogue with community, landscapes, and cultural settings. Their performances and creative activities have taken place in community centers, schools, parks, and public spaces, including the hot spring district. In 2024, the company presented its first touring performance at the Bird Theatre Festival. Through long-term creative processes, children are encouraged to explore their emotions, relationships, and sense of belonging. Dance is understood not as a technique to master, but as a shared language for expression, encounter, and presence. The company works under the artistic direction of Sonoko Chishiro and Yu Tanigaki, while placing strong emphasis on the agency and voices of the children. While former members who have grown into junior high and high school students now work as a separate group, they rejoin the company in this project, creating spaces where different generations come together through dance.