Stage Sep 19, 2019
by Chisato Tanaka
Hip-hop dancer Reina has dispensed with school in favor of dedicating her life to her art, and regularly travels across Asia to deliver dance classes and workshops
National Aug 11, 2019
Japanese Bon dance picking up popular tunes as it goes international
The Bon Odori dance, once a community event and a midsummer ritual for consoling ancestors' spirits, has evolved drastically in recent years, picking up popular disco and anime tunes and attracting people regardless of their age or nationality. "Let's take Bon dance to the world!" ...
Music Jul 25, 2019
The Chemical Brothers: A formula for success and a love of Fuji Rock
by Shaun Curran
Earlier this year The Chemical Brothers were asked to pick out pivotal locations in the dance duo's remarkable near 30-year career. Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons chose the places with the most emotional resonance: the Manchester address where the pair lived together as they cut ...
Entertainment News Jun 22, 2019
The life and works of fashion legend Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel was to be celebrated in a new ballet premiering at Moscow's Bolshoi on Saturday that highlights the designer's love of Russia and starring prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova. The one act performance by choreographer Yuri Possokhov ...
Stage May 23, 2019
Dancer Kaiji Moriyama celebrates ninja in his latest work
by Kris Kosaka
A creative yet shy child fascinated with origami and crafts, Kaiji Moriyama discovered dance late, at the age of 21 while a university student. He has certainly made up for the lost time, though. Just seven years since first studying the art form, ...
Music | Heisei Icons Apr 11, 2019
Tetsuya Komuro: J-pop inventor's synth-powered dance tunes set the tone for post-bubble Japan
by Patrick St. Michel
The term J-pop, a Heisei invention, needed a defining characteristic to make it stand out from the Showa Era's soundtrack, and Komuro provided a synthesizer-powered foundation.
Stage Mar 6, 2019
Creating opportunities for 'inclusive dance' with Stopgap Dance Company
by Nobuko Tanaka
"I believe people with almost any kind of physique can do contemporary dance. Yet though there are many courses for able-bodied people, there is almost nothing for people with disabilities," says Sho Shibata, executive producer of U.K.-based Stopgap Dance Company. Stopgap's debut Japan tour with ...
Stage Feb 19, 2019
Hikaru Uzawa blends old and new to add vitality to the world of noh
by Katherine Whatley
Hikaru Uzawa is a noh performer who marries her work within the traditional confines of the art form with performing in contemporary pieces internationally, bringing freshness to the traditional world of noh. Uzawa, 39, comes from a long line of noh performers. Her mother, Hisa ...
National Feb 13, 2019
Dancer aims to reinvent Minamata, long known for disease caused by pollution, into a city of samba
Minamata in Kumamoto Prefecture has long been known mainly for a deadly industrial pollution debacle that occurred decades ago, but a dancing teacher hopes he can help reinvent it into the city of samba. Masashi Ito, who prefers to go by his first name, has ...
Stage Dec 11, 2018
While ballet reigned supreme, a range of dance delighted fans in 2018
by Kris Kosaka
For a dance-loving country like Japan, every year brings delight in the variety of performances on offer, but the depth and breadth of 2018 on stage has been particularly grand for fans across a wide range of genres and movements. In January, the New National ...
National Nov 25, 2018
With popularity growing in Japan, pole dancing sheds seedy image to climb to new heights
by Andrew McKirdy
Sixty-three-year-old Kiyoshi Ikehara mops his bald head with a towel, wipes his hands and grips the vertical pole. With a sharp intake of breath he hauls himself up, grunting and straining as he climbs to the top. Once there he stops, clamps his thighs shut ...