Communicate through dance regardless of age, nationality, or disability!

The scene where the play is born
File.6 My Color Dance Workshop
Koichi Imai (editor/writer)

There is a unique facility called "Cultz Kawasaki" in Kawasaki City. The official name is "Kawasaki City Sports and Culture Center". It is a complex facility with a hall that can accommodate 2,013 people, large and small gymnasiums, a martial arts room, an archery range, and a training room. The opening is October 1, 2017. This style was realized because it was originally located in the place where the gymnasium was located, and it was decided that the hall of the nearby Education and Culture Hall would be closed in March 2018. Train your body and sharpen your senses. It may be that kind of image.
The nickname "Culttz Kawasaki" is a combination of "culture" and "sports," and the idea of a local junior high school student was adopted. Integrating Kawasaki City's Fujimi district and its surroundings, it is a bustling facility that revitalizes the region with a focus on culture and sports.

Well, at such "Culttz Kawasaki", an initiative called "My Color Dance Workshop" is being carried out. This is part of a project based on the idea of a public art community project, where local citizens participate and work together with professional artists to create a work of art. Focusing on the diversity of Kawasaki City, people with and without disabilities participate in dance workshops to create a society that embraces people with various needs and supports each other. I am striving to create.
“As a citizen myself, I have many thoughts. I wish I could convey the importance of aiming for a society in which everyone from children to adults and people with disabilities can live together beyond differences in culture and nationality. This project was born from
says Akane Murata, who is in charge of the project.

The workshop instructor is Mr. Shintaro Hirahara. In addition to leading a dance company called OrganWorks, Mr. Hirahara also provides choreography for various stage productions, and is a dancer and choreographer who participates in condors led by Ryohei Kondo and "Dansu" with Shintaro Oue and Mirai Moriyama. home.
First, a one-off workshop was held in October 2018. This was commissioned by the city's Cultural Foundation "Para Art Promotion Model Project," which promotes the creation of an environment in which people with and without disabilities can engage in cultural and artistic activities together. Subsequently, a total of eight workshops were held from December 2018 to March 2019 as a Culttz Kawasaki project. It was carried out as one course until the results presentation was held on March 30th.
“With Mr. Hirahara leading the way, everyone who participated explored ways to express 'connection with people,' 'living together,' and 'communication,' through dance, and had the experience of conveying that to the other party. (Murata).

In fact, Mr. Murata has had a desire to coexist with people with disabilities since he was a university student, but until he started this project, he had no experience of interacting with people with disabilities. So, first of all, I went to a lecture on the "Symbiotic Co-creation Project" held at KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theater, and at the group "SLOWLABEL" in Yokohama City, which is developing activities to create performances together with people with disabilities and able-bodied people. I learned about support and communication. In other words, they were able to immediately put into practice what they had learned.

And from this June, the first term of 2019 has started.
A total of 14 workshops. It consists of an A class for pairs of children and adults, a B class for those aged 10 and over, and a C class for people with disabilities.
Capacity is 70 people. Many citizens continue to participate from the last time, and the workshops are enthusiastic and fun in preparation for the announcement of the results on November 2nd.

I feel like we are making good progress, but there are still issues to be addressed. The "participation of foreigners", which was originally planned, has not been achieved.
Kawasaki City is famous as a city where many foreigners such as Koreans, Chinese, and Indians live. There are some sad news such as hate speech, but in 2005 Kawasaki City formulated the "Kawasaki City Multicultural Society Promotion Guidelines" (revised in 2008 and 2015). It is an advanced area in Japan that systematically and comprehensively promotes measures related to foreign citizens.

“People from many different countries live in Kawasaki City. When people of different nationalities live together, there is still some prejudice. Let’s accept each other and live together. Ever since I was assigned to Culttz Kawasaki, I've been thinking, 'I hope I can do something.'
I told Mr. Hirahara that I would like to convey through dance that 'Let's live by recognizing each other's individuality.'" (Murata).

He is in the midst of trial and error, reaching out to foreign acquaintances, recreating leaflets, and receiving advice from the ward office to reach out to the foreign community.

“Until now, the focus of our publicity has been in Kawasaki Ward, which is familiar to us, but we would like to broaden our horizons and expand our activities to the entire Kawasaki City. I want to.” (Murata).

Yes, this project is set as a 3-year period for the time being. The goal is to create a work on May 24, 2020 in a hall with a capacity of 2,013 people, including people with disabilities, foreigners, adults and children, all standing in the same space. Even the seats have to be filled.

I have a lot of work to do. But when you imagine all kinds of people gathering, dancing, and exchanging smiles at Culttz Kawasaki, isn't it exciting?

And the power of art is indispensable there.