Aiano Nakagawa (she/they) is a movement artist, writer, and community educator based in Oakland, CA. Their experience as a big-bodied, Queer, mixed person of color informs how they teach, create, and move through the world. They hold a B.A. in Dance from Mills College and are an MA candidate in Women and Gender Studies, Spirituality, and Social Justice at CIIS in San Francisco. They are the creative director of Art for Ourselves, an online community publication dedicated to the liberation and prosperity of QTBIPOC creative individuals and communities, at every intersection. ​As an embodiment/dance educator Aiano explores Power & agency and specializes in improvisational movement practices that honor people’s physical, emotional, and developmental needs with students ranging from infancy to elderhood. In all their work – teaching, creating, performing, gathering/hosting, writing, and publishing – Aiano aims to support people in cultivating a practical understanding of Power, systemic and social oppression, and the responsibility we all hold to do the work that moves us closer to liberation.
