A woman in a dance pose performing inside a modern building with large glass windows and a view of trees with fall foliage outside.

About

Photo by Anéva Dubeaux

Kanon Sugino (she/her) is a Japanese American dancer and choreographer born and raised in New York. She attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts and SUNY Purchase College, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a BFA in Dance and a BA in Arts Management. 

Kanon has worked with Nimbus Dance, and is currently a company dancer with Doug Varone and Dancers and MICHIYAYA Dance. She has performed in works choreographed by Doug Varone, Bill T. Jones, Keerati Jinakunwiphat, Jie-Hung Connie Shiau, Norbert De La Cruz lll, Gregory Lau, Fredrick Earl Mosley, Peter Chu, Darrell Grand Moultrie, MICHIYAYA, Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, and more. 

As a choreographer, she has presented work at the We Belong Here: AAPI Festival, split bill performances at Arts On Site and the Triskelion Theater, and self-curated shows at the Puffin Room Art Gallery and the Triskelion Theater.

During her time at Purchase College, she took on the role of co-leader of the Conservatory of Dance’s Racial Equity Group, and was awarded the Distinguished Leadership Award for her work. Additionally, Kanon was named the Jadin Wong Fellow for Dance with Asian American Arts Alliance as well as an Honored Artist for Dance with the Clive Barnes Foundation in 2024. 

Kanon has taught at SUNY Purchase’s Conservatory of Dance, New York Theatre Ballet, and at Doug Varone and Dancer’s summer and winter intensives in addition to various colleges in the U.S. while on tour with the company.

For a full resumé, click here.

A yellow line drawing of a cherry blossom flower branch with leaves, blossoms, and buds.
A yellow line drawing of a cherry blossom flower branch with leaves, blossoms, and buds.