james akemi hisanaga
they/them

James Hisanaga is an interdisciplinary performance artist & manager originally from the California Bay Area. 

James' dance training started at age 7 with Marin Ballet, where they went en pointe at age 10. They concurrently grew their love for math, science, visual art, and social justice through high school. They graduated in 2021 from both Tamalpais High School and Marin Ballet.

Four years later, James graduated with a B.S. in Communication from Northwestern University, where they studied dance, theatre, and gender & sexuality studies. Extracurricularly, James was a member of both Boomshaka and Refresh Dance Crew for four years, where they further developed their performance and choreography practices. They also served as Boomshaka's co-public relations chair for three years, gaining experience in marketing and graphic design.

Outside of dance, James was an active member of the student theatre community, gaining experience in both the management and design aspects of performance. Their junior year, James served as the Producer for the Jewish Theatre Ensemble’s Falsettos; they led a production team of 40+ students and fundraised and managed a budget of over $11,000. And during their senior year, they were the Production Stage Manager for the 82nd Annual Dolphin Show, Rogers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, the largest student-produced musical in the country. James also served as production manager, company manager, and assistant production manager for Sit & Spin Productions, Northwestern's experimental theatre board.

James is now based in Chicago, working as a dance coach, choreographer, and theatre manager.

They believe in the power of physical performance as a universal language that can uniquely connect with each audience member beyond words and text.