Lucy Guerin Inc and EkosDance Company are thrilled to announce the selected artists for the Naarm/Solo Dance Exchange 2024-2026: Yuiko Masukawa and Mekratingrum Hapsari.
These talented choreographers will collaborate over two years, working between Naarm/Melbourne, Australia, and Solo/Surakarta, Indonesia, to create a new performance for public presentation.
The Naarm/Solo Dance Exchange, presented by LGI and EkosDance Company, fosters cross-cultural artistic collaboration by pairing one Melbourne-based choreographer with one Solo-based choreographer. Over the course of the program, Yuiko and Mekratingrum will work in both Melbourne and Solo, supported by Lucy Guerin, Artistic Director of LGI, and Eko Supriyanto, Artistic Director of EkosDance Company. The program encourages creative experimentation, the sharing of cultural and artistic practices, and the forging of lasting connections.
Reflecting on the exchange, Yuiko and Mekratingrum shared:
“In my practice, I often work collaboratively, seeking opportunities to bridge people and places. This exchange is an incredible opportunity to build new relationships, gain fresh experiences in Indonesia, and develop something meaningful over an extended period. I am deeply grateful to Lucy Guerin Inc and EkosDance Company for this chance.”
– Yuiko Masukawa
“I am a person who really appreciates meetings. In my opinion, the moment of meeting is the most important thing in seeing a new perspective in life. This was the most important experience in enriching my view of art. The Naarm/Solo Dance Exchange gives me the opportunity to have experience receiving and giving new things. This experience in working and collaborating will be the basis for looking for new possibilities in creating a work together.”
– Mekratingrum Hapsari
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About the Artists
Yuiko Masukawa
Yuiko Masukawa is a Japanese choreographer based in Naarm. Her work brings together the inclusive ethos of contemporary dance with her deep expertise of ballet. She is a current recipient of the The Australian Ballet’s Telstra Emerging Choreographer’s Award for her work 3.
In 2024, she is presenting new work at The Australian Ballet as part of the Bodytorque season and created Lux, a new full length work for West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). She is also continuing the development of her works After Party, and Yugen, as well as an expanded performance iteration of 3.
After education in Japan, America and Canada, she moved to Australia and graduated at West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) before launching a professional career as a dancer and choreographer.
In 2020, she undertook choreographic secondments with New York City Ballet and Milwaukee Ballet, supported by the Ian Potter Cultural Trust. In 2022, she presented Running Machine (Nominated Design/Technical Achievement in the 2023 Green Room Awards) an international, interdisciplinary work at Arts House between Japan and Australia, and undertook a choreographic secondment with Lucy Guerin. In 2023, She presented the first development of Yugen at The Australian Ballet as a part of Frame: A biennial of dance.
Yuiko was a principal artist with Melbourne City Ballet for 2014-2019, touring across Australia, New Zealand and Japan performing principal roles for more than 15 seasons. As a choreographer with MCB, she created works for each contemporary season as well as more than 10 full-length ballets for Melbourne City Youth Ballet in her role as artistic director. Her work was nominated for outstanding achievement in youth dance at the 2018 Australian Dance Awards.
Yuiko is a passionate ballet teacher, teaching at The Australian Ballet, Lucy Guerin Inc, The National Ballet School, Victorian College of Arts, Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School and Transit Dance.
Mekratingrum Hapsari
Mekratingrum Hapsari was born in Surakarta, 1995. She is a dancer and choreographer with a background in Indonesian traditional art and interested in modern and contemporary art. Hapsari has participated in several local and international platforms, such as attending a residency at La Biennale Collage Danza in Venice 2018 as a dancer of Marie Chouinard, Biennale Collage Danza director, and Daina Ashbee from Canada. Mekratingrum Hapsari has been a dancer and performer in several productions, including of national and international artists, such as Melati Suryodarmo, Garin Nugroho, Eko Supriyanto, Otniel Tasman, Ari Rudenko, Marie Chouinard, and Daina Ashbee. As a choreographer, Hapsari has created several dance and performance art works, Daring (2019), Selanjutnya (2020), Meniti (2020), and A Day to Remember (2022)
From 2021 to 2022, Hapsari has taken part in ‘Bodies of Care’ in order to create a performance by instruction Thank You – a project led by LIGNA Hamburg and supported by the Goethe Institute Indonesia and Sasikirana Bandung. In 2023, Hapsari participated in a performance installation of dance and music called the Awal/Beginning project by RuBarb Dance Art. Her short dance film Satu Garis Menurun has been screened at Haus der Indonesischen Kulturen-Berlin. Hapsari has taken part in Lapse’s work by Melati Suryodarmo at Esplanade, Singapore (2023). In 2024, Hapsari has completed her education from the Indonesian Institute of the Arts Surkarta as a Master of Art and created Gereja Muda with faculty advisor Eko Supriyanto.
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Program of Activity
2024
2 weeks of choreographic exchange in Surakarta, hosted by EkosDance Company.
2025
2 weeks of choreographic exchange in Melbourne, hosted by LGI at WXYZ Studios.
2 weeks of further development in Surakarta, hosted by EkosDance Company.
2026
Presentation seasons in Surakarta, Indonesia and Melbourne, Australia.
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Thank you
This program is made possible with the generous support of WXYZ Studios.