Daito Manabe x ELEVENPLAY^JP

Daito Manabe
Artist, Composer

Daito Manabe is an artist, programmer, and composer whose work explores how life, intelligence, and society emerge, through music, computation, and audiovisual media. After founding Rhizomatiks in 2006, he has developed works combining programming, music, visual art, and performance.

His early research investigated feedback between the human body and machines by transforming motion, muscle activity, and physiological signals into sound and images. His practice later expanded to cultured neural networks, brain organoids, and spiking neural networks, treating biological activity itself as a generative medium.

His current research focuses on societies composed of humans, artificial life, and AI agents, exploring how interaction, adaptation, and emergence can become new methods for generating music and moving images.

Moving between research and practice, he presents work through large-scale performances, museum installations, and public artworks. For the Tokyo Handover Ceremony at the Closing Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, he led technology development, visual systems, and lighting systems. He continues to collaborate with artists including Perfume, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Björk, Nosaj Thing, and Squarepusher.

From October 3, 2026 to January 3, 2027, Manabe presents the solo exhibition “Relational Time” at Taichung Art Museum in Taiwan.

MIKIKO
Stage Choreographer

From choreographing and directing live performances for artists such as Perfume and BABYMETAL to working on numerous music videos, commercials, and stage productions—including Gen Hoshino’s iconic “Koi Dance”—MIKIKO has earned widespread recognition for her distinctive choreographic methodology and powerful sense of direction.

Highly acclaimed for choreography that brings out each artist’s individuality and for productions that seamlessly synchronize sound and movement, MIKIKO creates works with a strong visual impact and a cohesive artistic identity.

Her creative direction extends beyond music and entertainment. She directed a show act for the opening ceremony of CeBIT, one of the world’s largest technology expos, held in Hanover, Germany, as well as the production of Yuzuru Hanyu’s Tokyo Dome performance “GIFT.” These projects demonstrate her ability to bring her creative vision to major international stages and to genres beyond music.

Through collaborations with Rhizomatiks, MIKIKO has also created works that fuse cutting-edge technology with physical expression, earning high acclaim both in Japan and internationally within the field of media art.

This innovative and artistic approach has led to numerous prestigious awards, including the Good Design Award, the ACC Grand Prix in the Interactive Category, and a Special Award from Ars Electronica.

Through collaborations with creators across a wide range of disciplines, MIKIKO continues to pursue a distinctive form of expression that transforms emerging technologies into compelling entertainment experiences.

ELEVENPLAY
Dance Company

A dance company led by choreographer MIKIKO. It was launched in 2009 with the hope of producing wonderful dancers with refined sense as well as “mind, technique, and body.”

The company is made up of female dancers and has a wide range of expressive mediums, including stage, video, and stills. They have frequently collaborated with Rhizomatiks and have been invited to Sónar Festival, Gray Area Festival, and MUTEK, expanding their scope of activity overseas and performing their works in over 30 cities around the world.

At the same time, in Japan, they have been active in the mainstream entertainment scene, working as dancers for various artists, including Gen Hoshino for his hit “Koi Dance” and Ringo Sheena, as well as choreographing for commercials. In recent years, company members have also been involved in education, taking on choreography for programs on NHK Educational TV and actively teaching in educational settings.

Daito Manabe x ELEVENPLAY — +1+1+1+

“+1+1+1+” is a dance installation by Daito Manabe and ELEVENPLAY, led by MIKIKO. Exploring the themes of time and structure, the work layers classical musical structures and repetitive contemporary rhythms with dancers’ bodies, moving images, light, and shifting frames. Through a stage space that repeatedly moves between synchronization and displacement, the work reconfigures the boundaries between body and technology, and between music and dance.

The work had its world premiere in 2024 as part of the opening program for the Middle Hall at Toyama Aubade Hall, followed by performances in Hong Kong (2024) and Shanghai (2025). The MUTEK.JP 2026 presentation marks the work’s Tokyo premiere.

Credits:

Artistic Direction / Music / Visual
Daito Manabe

Artistic Direction / Choreography
MIKIKO (ELEVENPLAY)

Cast
KAORI / SAYA / KAi MiWA / NANAKO (ELEVENPLAY)

Visual
Ayumu Nagamatsu
Yuta Okuyama
Masahiro Kadokawa (Cuddys Pic)
Shuhei Maeta (Cuddys Pic)
Yuuki Fujinaga (Cuddys Pic)
Futa Kera (Abstract Engine)

Music Co-Produced by
Hopebox / Kyoko Koyama

Strings
Sonoko Muraoka Strings
1st Violin: Yuri Kamei
2nd Violin: Ayaka Jomoto
Viola: Reiichi Tateizumi
Cello: Sonoko Muraoka

Strings Recording
Shintaro Kamijo (Abstract Engine)
Mouri Artworks Studio

Stage Manager
Yoshiko Haraguchi (Moribuden)

Set Design
Saki Miyamoto (Mottibox)
Lighting Design
Momoko Nishimoto (Abstract Engine)

Stage Props
Kyouhei Mouri (Abstract Engine)
Motoi Ishibashi (Abstract Engine)
Toshitaka Mochizuki (Abstract Engine)
Tomoaki Yanagisawa

Assistant Choreographer / Assistant Director
NON (ELEVENPLAY)

Stage Team
Jun Maeda
Eisuke Otsu

Technical Operation
Kosaku Namikawa (7ild3)

4D Views & Motion Capture Recording
Hajime Kotani
Tadayuki Suzuki
Yoshitaka Homma
Ren Sakamoto
Kazumasa Yasuda
Ryuki Hiraga
Koyuki Yamazaki (Crescent)

Videographer
Muryo Homma (Abstract Engine)

Costume Cooperation
FUMIE=TANAKA

Project Management
Yoko Shiraiwa / NON (ELEVENPLAY)
Naoki Ishizuka (Abstract Engine)

Producer
Takao Inoue (Abstract Engine)