Biographical/historical: Eiko and Koma (Eiko Otake and Koma Otake) are husband-and-wife Japanese-US dancers and choreographers. They studied law and political science but in 1971 joined the Tatsumi Hijikata Butoh company in Tokyo. In 1972 they established the Eiko and Koma butō company and performed their first work together; in the same year also began studying with Ohno. In 1972 they moved to Germany and studied with Manja Chmiell, a follower of Wigman (1972–3) and toured in Europe before settling in New York in 1976. The artistic style of Eiko and Koma draws often from nature and humanity’s relationship with the natural world. They have toured throughout the world, and performed at various festivals including the American Dance Festival as well as the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival.
