About the author

Dr. Diego Pellecchia

I received my PhD from Royal Holloway, University of London, with a thesis on the history of the reception of Noh theatre in the West. I practices Noh chant and dance with Master-Actor Udaka Michishige (Kongō School), and I have performed and led workshops both in Japan and abroad as a member of the International Noh Institute. I am currently post-doctoral researcher at Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, under a Japan Foundation fellowship scheme. Visit my academic profile here.

I am recipient of the IFTR New Scholars’ Prize 2013 for my essay ‘Ezra Pound and the politics of Noh films’.

I have started my training in Noh utai and shimai (chant and dance) in Milan, Italy in April 2006 with Monique Arnaud, the only Noh instructor (shihan) to be resident outside Japan. In 2007 I started to practice with Master-Actor Udaka Michishige, leader of the INI International Noh Institute and performed my first shimai dance (Tsurukame) at the Kongō Noh theatre in Kyoto. In June 2010 I took on my first role in a full Noh performance as the tsure (companion of the main actor) for the Noh Makiginu. On 29 June 2013 I will take the shite lead role in the full production of the Noh Kiyotsune.