October 8-10, 2026
New York Live Arts
219 W 19th Street
New York, NY 10011
Supported by the 2026 Creative Capital Award, Allegra premieres at New York Live Arts in New York, NY on October 8, 2026.
Benjamin Akio Kimitch’s (2026 Creative Capital Awardee) Allegra is a fantasy Japanese American court dance where history presses against memory, and memory against imagination. Drawing from family oral history and years of research in the United States and Japan, ballet stages give way to temple grounds, barren foothills, army barracks, and the stench of empty horse stables.
Benjamin’s Allegra turns to Bugaku, an ancient dance form whose roots stretch across Persia, India, China, Korea, and Japan. In postwar U.S.-Japan relations, performances of Bugaku inspired multiple collaborations with New York City Ballet, including George Balanchine’s own “Bugaku” ballet. These histories converge through a Japanese American lens anchored by the aftermath of the camps in World War II. Benjamin and his ensemble, Jessica Cook, Lai Yi Ohlsen, Glenn Potter-Takata, and Nami Yamamoto, bring these collective memories to life on stage.
Performances will be accompanied by Allegra Activations held across New York City. Programming includes a film screening of Rea Tajiri’s History and Memory: For Akiko and Takshige (September 30, hosted by the Wythe Hotel Art Program), a pre-show talk with costume designer Carlos J Soto and dramaturg Dr. Jeffrey Gan (October 9), a Gagaku demonstration by the Columbia Gagaku Instrumental Ensemble of New York (October 10), and an online digital Glossary.
Director and Choreographer: Benjamin Akio Kimitch
Performers: Jessica Cook, Lai Yi Ohlsen, Glenn Potter-Takata, Nami Yamamoto
Understudy: Evan Ray Suzuki
Costume Designer: Carlos Soto
Scenic Designer: Jian Jung
Lighting Designer: Serena Wong
Dramaturg: Jeffrey Gan
Gagaku Advisor: Fumiya Otonashi
Cultural Advisor and Mentor: Yasuko Yokoshi
Costume Supervisor: Victoria Bek
Associate Scenic Designer: Josh Oberlander
Producer: ShowShow
Production Manager: Emily Duncan
Stage Manager: Taeuk Kang
Artistic Administrator: Hanna Yurfest
Benjamin Akio Kimitch
Allegra
Benjamin Akio Kimitch is the recipient of an Asian Cultural Council Fellowship and Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award. Commissions and presentations from New York Live Arts, Lincoln Center, Jacob’s Pillow, The Shed, The Noguchi Museum, The Kitchen, and Danspace Project. Artistic residencies at MacDowell, Yaddo, MANCC, Movement Research, and others.