Rena Sangawa (she/her) is a dance artist based in Melbourne/Naarm and Sydney/Gadigal, currently studying for the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance) at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA). As a Japanese immigrant, Rena finds passion in performing, choreographing and producing works that question realness in digitalised society through hypothetical human and cultural relationships.

She trained in classical ballet and contemporary dance in Sydney while completing Advanced 2 of the Royal Academy of Dance exam. Rena was a member of the Senior Youth Ensemble at Sydney Dance Company 2019-2021. Along with her tertiary studies, she performed for the UoM Master of Music, RISING, MUSE Festival, Science Gallery Melbourne, and the Government House Victoria Ballroom. Through the VCA, Rena collaborated with Melissa Toogood supported by Merce Cunningham Trust, Gregory Lorenzutti, Chimene Steele-Prior and Luke George. Rena is proud to have directed and choreographed ‘//command_shift^ break’ which premiered in Union Theatre for Mudfest. Her passion for the process of art making was reinforced as a secondee for a new work development at Legs On The Wall. Rena recently performed a site-specific work ‘transmitting magenta’ for Guild Fringe at the Melbourne Fringe Festival commissioned by the University of Melbourne Student Union.