Dance brings people together, transcending age, nationality, and disability!
The place where plays are born
File.6 My Color Dance Workshop
Koichi Imai (Editor/Writer)
Kawasaki City has a unique facility called "Culttz Kawasaki." Its official name is the "Kawasaki City Sports and Culture Center." It is a multi-purpose facility equipped with a hall that can accommodate 2013 people, as well as large and small gymnasiums, martial arts rooms, an archery range, and a training room. It opened on October 1, 2017. It is located on the site of a former gymnasium, and this style of facility was realized because the hall of the nearby Education and Culture Center was scheduled to close in March 2018. It might give the impression of a place to train your body and hone your senses.
The nickname "Culttz Kawasaki" is a combination of "culture" and "sports," and was adopted as an idea by local junior high school students. It is a bustling facility that integrates the Fujimi district of Kawasaki City and the surrounding area, revitalizing the community with a focus on culture and sports.
Now, at "Culttz Kawasaki," an initiative called "My Color Dance Workshop" is being held. This is part of a public art community project, which aims to create a single work of art together with professional artists, with the participation of local citizens. Focusing on the diversity of Kawasaki City, and in order to address the challenges toward creating a society that embraces and supports people with various needs, people with and without disabilities are participating in dance workshops together and working hard to create a work of art.
"As a citizen, I have many thoughts on this matter. I wanted to convey the importance of striving for a society where people of all ages, from children to adults, including people with disabilities, can live together, transcending differences in culture and nationality. This project was born from that desire."
"That's what Akane Murata, the project manager, said.
The workshop instructor is Shintaro Hirahara. Hirahara is a dancer and choreographer who leads the dance company OrganWorks, provides choreography for various stage productions, and participates in projects such as Condors, led by Ryohei Kondo, and "Dansu" with Shintaro Oue and Mirai Moriyama.
First, a one-off workshop was held in October 2018. This was commissioned by the city's cultural foundation's "Para-Art Promotion Model Project," which aims to create an environment where people with and without disabilities can participate in cultural and artistic activities together. Subsequently, as part of the Culttz Kawasaki project, a total of eight workshops were held from December 2018 to March 2019. The project was conducted as one cycle, culminating in a presentation of results on March 30th.
"Under Ms. Hirahara's guidance, all the participants explored ways to express themes such as 'connection with others,' 'living together,' and 'communication' through dance, and experienced conveying these to others," (Murata).
In fact, although Ms. Murata had harbored thoughts about "coexistence" since her university days, she had absolutely no experience interacting with people with disabilities until she started this project. So, she first attended a "Coexistence and Co-creation Project" course held at KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theatre, and learned about support and communication at "SLOWLABEL," a Yokohama-based organization that develops activities in which people with and without disabilities create performances together. In other words, she immediately put what she learned into practice.
And this June, the first term of the 2019 fiscal year has begun.
The workshop consists of 14 sessions in total. It is divided into three classes: Class A for child-adult pairs, Class B for those aged 10 and over, and Class C for people with disabilities.
The capacity is 70 people. Many citizens who participated last time are returning, and the workshop is lively and enjoyable as they prepare for the presentation of their results on November 2nd.
While things seem to be progressing smoothly, there are still challenges to overcome. One of the initial goals, "participation from foreigners," has not yet been achieved.
Kawasaki City is known as a city where many foreigners, including Koreans, Chinese, and Indians, live. Although there have been sad news stories such as hate speech, Kawasaki City formulated the "Kawasaki City Multicultural Coexistence Society Promotion Guidelines" in 2005 (revised in 2008 and 2015). It is one of the leading cities in Japan in systematically and comprehensively promoting policies related to foreign residents.
"People from many different countries live in Kawasaki City. When people of different nationalities live together, there are still some prejudices. I wanted to convey the message that it's important to accept each other and live together. Ever since I was assigned to Culttz Kawasaki, I've been thinking, 'I wish I could do something.'"
"I told Ms. Hirahara that I wanted to convey the message, 'Let's live our lives respecting each other's individuality,' through dance," (Murata).
We're in the midst of trial and error, reaching out to foreign acquaintances, redesigning flyers, and seeking advice from the ward office to reach out to the foreign community.
"Until now, our public relations efforts have mainly focused on the nearby Kawasaki Ward, but we want to broaden our horizons and expand our activities to the entire city of Kawasaki. Attracting visitors for 2020 is also important, so we want to promote the event throughout Kanagawa Prefecture," (Murata).
Yes, this project has a three-year timeframe as its initial goal. The aim is for May 24, 2020, to be the day when "people with disabilities, foreigners, adults and children, all stand in the same space and create one work of art" in a hall that seats 2,013 people. The audience seats must be filled as well.
There are so many things that need to be done. But when I imagine all sorts of people gathering at Culttz Kawasaki, dancing, and exchanging smiles, it makes me excited, doesn't it?
And the power of art is indispensable in that process.
