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KYOKA：Hip-Hop's World of Equality
With 20 years of experience as a dancer, KYOKA has used dance as a means of self-discovery, opening her heart and unleashing her vitality. She hopes that through her profession, she can create an equal and freely expressive world for those around her, and in doing so, has developed her own unique dance style.
In this episode of So GROTTO, we invite her to share how she challenges her own limits through dance practice and navigates unfamiliar environments with her distinctive personal style.
Q&A
Q1. What has been the greatest challenge in your dance practice, and how did you overcome it?
Practice time is the freest time for me. There's no one to judge me, and I can fall or slip freely. From a dance perspective, practice allows me to challenge my limits without any fear. Personally, when I'm outside my comfort zone or asked to behave differently from my usual self, how can I maintain my personal style in response? This is what I find most challenging, and the process is truly fascinating.
Q2. What has been the most profound impact dance has had on you personally?
Dance has helped me understand who I truly am. As a child, I found it difficult to open up in new environments. I was always highly aware of my surroundings, and no matter what I did, I would first assess whether the timing was right - preferring to observe and think before taking action. Because of this, I thought I wasn't good at communication. It was only when I started dancing that I discovered my energetic and outgoing nature. I realized that I'm actually interested in many things, and it's not that I was bad at communicating - I just didn't know how to express myself before.
Q3. Your dance style is free and highly creative. How would you describe your unique artistic identity? What key factors led you to discover the distinctive "KYOKA style"?
When I was young, I really wanted to become like my mentors, D'OAM, and I always tried to imitate them. However, as a female with a much shorter stature, my physicality was completely different from theirs. Gradually, I realized that even through imitation, I could never truly become them, so I began searching for my own way of expression. From that point on, I trusted my own sensibilities and started dancing freely according to my own ideas, slowly but steadily forming my unique style.
Q4. What do you believe is the core essence of hip-hop culture? And how has growing up within such a cultural environment shaped your worldview?
Hip-hop culture has a 50-year history, which is far longer and deeper than my own. There's still so much I don't know about it, but in an era when conflicts over skin color and social class were still common, people began using art to express their thoughts instead of sacrificing lives through fighting. I believe hip-hop culture advocates for equality in the world, hoping that everyone can live in a world free from limitations like skin color or background - a world where free expression is possible. Dance, as a means of free expression, aligns perfectly with GROTTO's brand philosophy of "Born for Freedom."
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”To Be Free, just dance on! ”