Adult Workshop: Classical Japanese Dance with Kaya Yamazaki

Master teacher Kaya Yamazaki will teach students the basics of Classical Japanese Dance including foot, hand, and head movements; rhythmic patterns called yatton and tottan, performed with stamping, chanting, and iki (breath); and how to use the sensu (dancing “fans”). No prior experience is necessary to participate. Kaya Yamazaki is a Nihon Buyo artist, performer, choreographer, teacher, and anthropologist. Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Kaya began her Nihon Buyo (Classical Japanese Dance) training at age four and received a natori (master's license) at age 18. After coming to the U.S., Kaya studied modern dance techniques and continued performing and teaching Japanese dance while pursuing her graduate degree. As dance critic George Jackson wrote, Kaya is "a versatile and vivid performer." Her repertoire spans from 18th-century Kabuki dances to her creations inspired by classical Japanese style and modern dance. Her distinctions include an Artist Trust Fellowship, a Heritage Arts Apprentice Program Master Artist award, a Rockefeller Humanities Fellowship at the UCLA Asia Pacific Performance Exchange residency, and a Ph.D. in the Anthropology of Dance. Kaya has invented the Yamazaki MethodTM, an innovative Classical Japanese Dance training system, now registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. The Yamazaki MethodTM is the world's first Japanese Dance training system recorded in an audio-visual format and fully narrated in English for global audiences, especially students, teachers, and researchers of Japanese performing arts. www.japanesedance.online