Takeshi Matsumoto is a founder of Seven Circles.
He is a dance artist specializing in making dance performances for young audiences. He is also a qualified dance movement psychotherapist, having experience in working with children with autism and learning disabilities both in the UK and Japan. Growing up in Japan, his practice both in life and performing art is influenced by 和-Wa, harmony, peacefulness, quiet and contentment ways of living and balancing with others and environment.
As a dance performer Takeshi has worked with Christian Duarte, Henri Oguike, Darren Johnston, Beatrice Allegranti, Paul-Andre Fortier, SLiDE, Anthea Hamilton, 2nd Hand Dance and Hagit Yakira.
On a local level, he has been engaged with dance projects for and with children and adults with learning disabilities (SLiDE, Icandance, RADiate) and people living with dementia (Beatrice Allegranti) in the UK. On a global level, he has led dance projects for families who survived nuclear disaster in northern Japan (2013) and stateless refugee children in Thailand collaborating with other artists(2016 onwards).
He continues to explore possibilities of dance and performance as a way of acknowledging differences and creating mutual understanding with particular emphasis on empathy, communication, empowerment and body mind integration.