Makoto Hirano is a Philadelphia-based dance, theatre, and spoken word artist. His award-winning ensemble and solo performance works have been presented nationally in numerous venues and festivals including the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival, Yale University, and off-Broadway at the National Asian American Theatre Festival. Performer/collaborator highlights include projects with Bill Irwin, Pig Iron Theatre Company, Subcircle, Kate Watson-Wallace/anonymous bodies, Nichole Canuso Dance Company and Thaddeus Phillips/Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental. Hirano’s work has received support from the Independence Foundation, Pew Center for Arts and Heritage through Dance Advance, Wyncote Foundation, Philadelphia Live Arts Festival’s LAB Fellow Program, the Asian Arts Initiative’s Residency Programs, with commissions from the National Constitution Center, Rowan University’s Theater and Dance Department, and several local dance and theatre companies. Hirano is also a co-founder of Team Sunshine Performance Corporation, where he is a co-creator and administrator of all projects and events. A former-U.S. Marine, Hirano studied dance at Columbia College Chicago and earned his BFA at Temple University.