Koike Hiroshi is the Founder of Pappa TARAHUMARA (1982–2012). He wrote, directed and choreographed 55 productions with Pappa TARAHUMARA, leading a generation in Japanese performing arts to cross genres of drama, dance, art and music. In 2012 he launched the Hiroshi Koike Bridge Project (HKBP) with the mission of producing collaborative projects based on education, dissemination and creativity. Under HKBP, Koike has written, directed and choreographed 21 productions around Asia. Koike has created work in 10 countries and his productions have been performed in over 40 countries. He has been invited to collaborate with artists around the world. His workshops that focus on reclaiming the physical body have been presented to professional artists as actor training and to the general public for developing creativity in both Japan and overseas. He served as the Artistic Director at Tsukuba Cultural Foundation, Chairman of Asian Performing Arts Forum, Committee Member of Japan Foundation (2005–2011). He is a professor at Musashino Art University, where he is the first theater director to be appointed in the Department of Scenography, Display and Fashion Design. He is the principal and founder of Performing Arts Institute (P.A.I.), an educational institution for developing artists. He is the author of two books. A collection of essays on the intersection of art and society entitled Listen to the Voice of the Body and his theory of direction entitled Performing Arts Theory – “Fūshi Kaden” for the 21st Century. His first anthology of plays entitled Journey to Night and the End of the World was published in 2018.
