ARAWANA HAYASHI
ABOUT
ARAWANA HAYASHI
Dancer and Dharma Art teacher cultivating awareness through movement — co-creator of Social Presencing Theater and core faculty at the Presencing Institute.
For decades Arawana has walked a path of contemplative practice and collaborative creation. Her work is dedicated to making visible the space between what is and what longs to emerge. At the Presencing Institute, she guides the creation of Social Presencing Theater (SPT) with Otto Scharmer and colleagues, cultivating embodied awareness that reveals both the depth of current reality and the potential of what is coming into being.
EXPLORE ARAWANA ARTISTIC JOURNEY THROUGH
ABOUT
PRESENT:
Social Presencing Theather
PRESENT: Dharma Art
Future
In her book, Social Presencing Theater: The Art of Making a True Move, Arawana shares practices that invite individuals and communities into a field of spaciousness where transformation becomes possible. More than techniques, these are ways of being present to the wisdom that arises when we listen deeply to the moment.
This journey has unfolded through diverse forms: directing an interracial dance company created after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; performing the ancient Japanese Court Dance (bugaku); and co-creating processes that weave art, awareness, and social change. Each experience affirms that authentic movement arises from openness, and that true change unfolds when we meet the present moment fully.
Arawana has served as Co-Director of the Dance Program at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, founded dance companies rooted in contemplative practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and now shares her experience as part of the Presencing Institute’s core faculty. Current collaborations include programs such as the Executive Champions Workshop with Peter Senge, Otto Scharmer, and Melanie Goodchild, as well as social arts residencies and international teaching — always approaching teaching as a practice of co-creation.
At its heart, Social Presencing Theater is a regenerative practice of awakening embodied knowing. When we move beneath the surface of habit and reaction, we encounter the vast intelligence that flows through us. From this place, action naturally aligns with what serves the whole.
In a world longing for authentic leadership and genuine connection, Arawana offers her work not as solutions, but as invitations, to rediscover what is already present: the innate wisdom that responds to our times with compassion, clarity, and care for life.
