“Kenji Wilkie has his feet firmly planted in several corners of the world at the same time. This is well shown in his choreographies when we as spectators are drawn into a world of clear aesthetic and humour, where the foreign becomes recognisable, and the known becomes strange. His interest in the world is nuanced, making his art fearless and cross-genre.”
- Esther Maria Bjørneboe, Artist
“Kenji’s work shows a distinctive and authentic approach, that uses thought provoking, conceptual ideas that have life within the dance.” -Kate Flatt OBE, Choreographer
Born in Frankfurt/Main to Australian Japanese parents and growing up in Sydney, Wilkie began his dance training in 2010 under the tuition of Hilary Kaplan and Archibald McKenzie before attending The Royal Ballet Upper School. There in his second year, he created his first piece ‘Ataraxia’ for the 2014 Ursula Moreton Choreographic Award and was awarded first prize.
After graduating in 2015, he joined Norwegian National Ballet. During his time working there he experienced a wide variety of repertoire, forming a strong foundational understanding of the ballet and modern classics, as well as an exposure to and awareness of the broad and growing spectrum that is contemporary dance.
To date he has worked with choreographers such as Jiri Kylian, Mats Ek, William Forsythe, Ohad Naharin, Wayne McGregor, Jo Strømgren, Ina Christel Johannessen, Alexander Ekman, Alan Lucien Øyen, Andreas Heise, Garrett Smith, Marit Moum Aune, Kaloyan Boyadjiev, Yoshifumi Inao, Cina Espejord, Melissa Hough, Juliano Nunes and Patrick King, providing him with a diverse range of artistic styles and creative processes to draw inspiration from.
When working independently the relationship between music and dance forms a strong foundation to his choreographic approach. Through extensive listening and interpretation of the music, he connects and shapes his ideas. Aligning the dance rhythmically and melodically, whilst also bringing it in harmony with the concepts and character of the music.
In collaborations he has worked with various artists from the fields of film, visual art, chamber music, jazz, theatre and architecture, giving him an open and creative approach to the synthesis and achievement of a project’s goals. Working with artists outside of the dance field has helped expand his perspective in terms of composition and style when it comes to creating for different platforms and settings.