Katja CENTONZE

Katja Centonze is an Associate Professor in the Department of Asian and North African Studies at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, where she teaches Japanese language and courses on Japanese art, architecture, and performance. She is also an Adjunct Researcher at the Tsubouchi Shōyō Memorial Theatre Museum, Waseda University, reflecting her deep engagement with Japanese performing arts. Her academic duties include membership in the Research Committee and prior leadership roles in the Undergraduate Teaching and Quality Assurance Committees. She is a board member of Teatro Ca’Foscari and actively contributes to academic governance.

Her research centers on Japanese performance, especially Butoh dance, corporeality, and the works of key figures such as Hijikata Tatsumi, Murobushi Kō, and Mishima Yukio. She explores themes of body politics, gender, queerness, and transcultural exchange, often linking traditional forms like Noh with contemporary avant-garde practices. Her scholarship is deeply interdisciplinary, bridging theatre studies, cultural theory, and visual arts.

The recent publications and conference presentations highlight a consistent focus on the body as a site of resistance, transformation, and aesthetic innovation. Her work examines how performance challenges social norms, engages with environmental and political crises, and redefines corporeality across cultural boundaries. She frequently investigates the intersections of tradition and modernity, particularly in how Japanese artists reinterpret classical forms for contemporary audiences.

• Premio Alcantara (2000)
• Japan Foundation Research Fellowship (2009–2010)
• Canon Foundation Fellowship (2007–2008)
• National Scientific Qualifications for Full and Associate Professor (2018, 2021)

Katja Centonze has organized and participated in numerous international conferences and workshops, often in collaboration with scholars and artists from Japan and Europe. She has served on juries for dance and theatre festivals in Tokyo and has been a peer reviewer for academic journals and publications. Her collaborative projects include cultural exchanges with Japanese institutions and contributions to multi-institutional research on Japanese studies and performance arts.

She has been involved in research projects such as “Challenging Fe/male Bodies: Queering Corporeality against Power” and has led initiatives on urban dramaturgies and environmental crisis. Her academic network spans Italy, Japan, and the United States, reflecting her role as a key figure in transnational Japanese performance studies.