Whatever springs to mind when you think of Kobe, it's unlikely to be dance. Yet, from the fourth floor of a nondescript building in the port city's multiethnic district of Shin-Nagata there shines forth a veritable beacon called Dance Box.
Founded in Osaka in 2003, Dance Box moved to its present home in 2009. Since then — led by producer Iku Otani and program director Fumi Yokobori — it has been showcasing and nurturing contemporary dancers and choreographers from Japan and beyond. The venue is split between two main sites, both in aging shopping arcades: Art Theater Dance Box, a 120-seat black-box space and Studio Dance Box, a rehearsal and tuition facility offering classes in ballet, jazz, hip-hop and the Israeli gaga style.
Similar eclecticism is a feature of most projects helmed by Dance Box. One, named About Dances in Shin-Nagata, began in 2009 and will appear as part of the TPAM Direction program in Yokohama on Feb. 13 and 14 (see last week's Stage page). The premise is to create collaborations between professional artists and local enthusiasts, such as members of the Chingudul group, who practice North and South Korean styles, and Masanwin Kitano, a restaurant owner and dancer from Myanmar.