As well as demonstrating its diversity from the traditional to the contemporary, the art of dance is open to everyone, and has a powerful ability to respond to the times as a physical art that transcends linguistic barriers.
It is said too that in recent years, the number of people dancing has been on the increase, with dance a compulsory part of physical education in junior high schools, the popularity of street dance, and the boom in creative new dance styles such as Yosakoi Soran by local townspeople.
At the same time, dance’s creativity itself is threatened by the closure of major theaters, and a lack or severance of its support systems.

So what is dance? In order to reaffirm its essence, review the realities and issues currently facing the field of dance, and consider support measures towards the solutions, we conducted interviews with a total of 30 diverse individuals and groups from the field of dance as well as experts from all walks of life in an effort to highlight the issues and the new possibilities for dance.

We would like to share these different opinions about the art of dance, and hopefully use them as pointers for the promotion of dance going forward.

Interview period
December 2016 – February 2017
Interviewers
Members of Arts Council Tokyo and ACT study group for promotional measures in the field of dance
Interviews were conducted with participating members of the study group started by Arts Council Tokyo to explore promotion measures in the field of dance.

ACT study group members for promotional measures in the field of dance
Miki Sato (Producer, STUDIO ARCHITANZ)
Koichiro Takagi (Producer, HiWood)
Keiichi Hayashi (Producer,d-soko Theater)
Kumi Hiraoka (Dance Producer, Dance in Deed!)
Saori Mikami (Planning and production, theater department of Setagaya Public Theatre)
Maki Miyakubo (Dance New Air, Chief Producer)
Daisuke Muto (Associate Professor at Gunma Prefectural Women’s University, dance critic and choreographer)

Overseen by: Mariko Konno, Yoko Kitagawa (Senior Program Officers for dance, Planning & Grants Division, Arts Council Tokyo)