Actor Takuma Usa will appear in the dance stage show BREAK FREE STARS at IHI Stage Around Tokyo starting October 23.

The show is an original work based on the non-verbal dance work BREAK FREE by Go Ueki, the first Japanese creator to win the Asian Arts Award for Best Performance at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world’s largest theater festival, in 2018. Shinjirou Kameda and Takahito Onishi wrote the adaptation for the stage.

The high-energy dance show takes place in a city where hip-hop is banned and focuses on the conflict between hip-hop stars and prison guards. It promises to make full use of video and lighting to bring the story to life.

<Summary>

New City is a metropolis full of people from all walks of life. In this incredible place, you can have it all. There’s one thing you can’t have, however–freedom. Young people gather at the club ‘BREAK FREE,’ a sacred space for hip-hop lovers, to search for peace of mind and a bit of freedom that no one can take away.

However…

The government announces the Hip-Hop Prohibition, taking away these young people’s freedom. BREAK FREE’s hip-hop stars are thrown into jail and dubbed dangerous criminals.

Hip-hop is not a crime. In order to take back their freedom and protect their music, the jailed stars must fight back against an overwhelmingly powerful force.

Calling all dancers! Starting August 5, Adobe began the Adobe DANCE VIDEO FES, which is accepting dance video submissions until August 31, 2022. Those wanting to participate will be dancing to one of four songs by a few very unique artists: Dodonpa by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Emome no Natsu by Lucky Kilimanjaro, STARLIGHT by iri, and WOO! GO! by Atarashii Gakko! The campaign challenges contestants to create a dance video in which they show off their original dance moves to the song of their choice. These videos can be easily edited using Adobe Premiere Rush, a piece of software that can also be installed on smartphones.

If you’re not incredibly confident in your dance moves, don’t worry. Rather than contestants being judged on their technical or editing skills, dancers will be evaluated on the amount of fun they have! The event is meant to emulate the excitement of a summer festival, so both beginners and pros are invited to participate. Just record your dance and upload it to YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok with the designated hashtag.

If the video you upload is selected by one of the participating artists, it will be featured in the official campaign dance video. Creators will also have the opportunity to appear in the artists’ live performances and dance videos in the future.

In addition, a total of 22 entrants will be selected by drawing to receive Sennheiser wireless headphones, a 12-month Adobe Creative Cloud Complete Plan, a pair of tickets to the D.LEAGUE 22-23 season opener, or an Amazon gift certificate worth ¥30,000.

Comments from Participating Artists

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu: “Dodonpa is a song that’s perfect for all kinds of dances, so I hope that you’ll dance in your own special way! I’m hoping I can find an amazing dancer to perform with me at my Budokan show on October 19, so I’m looking forward to hearing from you!”

Lucky Kilimanjaro: “Our band’s concept is to surprise the world every day, so we were so honored that our song was chosen!
We hope you’ll express yourself and show us your unique dances!”

iri: “My new song STARLIGHT is a difficult song to choreograph, so I’m really looking forward to seeing the dances you come with!”

Atarashii Gakko!: “We’re happy to announce that our song WOO! GO! has been chosen as a track for Adobe DANCE VIDEO FES! I hope you can add some really cool edits to your videos so that they reach the largest amount of people! Whoever submits the most impressive video will get to appear in an official dance video. We’re waiting to see your dances!”

Enter this contest with the same energy as if you were participating in a summer festival!

The Japanese hip-hop girls group XG is continuing to trend worldwide with the release of their second single MASCARA on June 29, 2022. The song reached #1 on the iTunes Song Chart (Alternative) in 17 countries.

For those obsessed with the choreography, the group has released two MASCARA dance practice videos on YouTube! Fans can enjoy a fixed camera version and a moving camera version, the latter of which highlights each member individually. The group’s sophisticated and extremely synchronized dance moves never cease to amaze. It almost seems like their hair is dancing along too!

MASCARA – XG (Dance Practice Fix ver.) 

MASCARA – XG (Dance Practice Moving ver. )

We can’t wait to see what XG does in the future!

ULTRA JAPAN 2022 will be held at TOKYO ODAIBA ULTRA PARK II in Tokyo on September 17 and 18, 2022!

ULTRA JAPAN is the Japanese version of ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL (UMF), one of the world’s largest urban dance music festivals held yearly in Miami since 1999. This year marks the 7th event in Japan, and the festival has been held in over 21 countries around the world. In 2016 and 2017, it was named the #1 festival in the world in a fan poll by DJ MAG. 

ULTRA JAPAN has become a staple of the dance music community in Japan, attracting over 530,000 people since it was first held in 2014. The festival has been number one in terms of attendance among all dance music festivals held in Japan, bringing together some of the world’s best DJs and delighting fans with intense special effects. The festival is only 15 minutes from Shibuya!

Stay tuned for more information about the artist lineup for ULTRA JAPAN!

TEMPURA KIDZ, the dance and vocal unit who’d have anyone’s eyes glued to them, with their colourful outfits and energetic dance moves. Although their members are all teenagers, they all have true and serious experience on stage. I’d like to introduce this 5-member group to you, one who if you’d have the chance to see, you wouldn’t be able to pull your eyes away.

Word spreads even before their debut

Their performances have no boundaries, and their appearance is surreal and comical. The group began their activities in November 2012. Immediately after posting their video “CIDER CIDER” onto YouTube before their debut, it quickly amounted to 40,000 views, a number which continued to rise. As of October 2016, the video has been played more than 1.6 million times, and continues to be recognised worldwide.

Members include NaNaHo, AO, KARIN, YU-KA, and P→★, the only male member in the group. Not only do they dance, they continuously make funny faces throughout, their on-stage fashion is always called cute. They also seem to have a lot of teenage fans from the same generation.

TEMPURA KIDZ: Their career begins

TEMPURA KIDZ are the original, first wave dancers for Harajuku queen Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. They have also performed as back-up dancers for a string of big name artists. They made their major debut on March 6th, 2013 with their single “ONE STEP”. They released their second single “Happy Natsu Matsuri” in July of the same year, and followed that up almost one year later with their third single “LOLLiPOP”. It doesn’t stop there, as on September 16th, 2015 TEMPURA KIDZ finally released their first album, “Tenkomori”.

They began to perform overseas a lot, in places like Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar, and Taiwan. You could have call them veteran performers already at this point. The group also have songs where each member performs solo routines. The audience really enjoys their fun and catchy dance moves.

Diverse experience establishes the backbone of their expressive power

TEMPURA KIDZ have come a long way already, having performed at festivals and events both in Japan and abroad, appearing on TV programs, performing in TV commercials, and more. They are also in charge of the choreography for educational programs as well as for a lot of other artists. Moreover, members YU-KA, NaNaHo and AO have begun to use vocals, bringing a whole new dimension to their performances as a group.

Their expressiveness doesn’t stop their however, as TEMPURA KIDZ have collaborated with numerous other artists. Artists such as Sayosaku from MONGOL 800, as well as HIFANA, TeddyLoid, CHI-MEY, ORESKABAND, and YMCK were producers for the group’s first mini-album “Minna no Dance Uta” which was released on March 12th, 2014 and includes arrangements of nostalgic children’s’ songs such as “Computer Obaachan” and “Sakura Sakura”. In the same year, they also released their digital single “Miira Killer” together with electro rap unit Charisma.com.

Their next big step will be their performance at “MOSHI MOSHI NIPPON FESTIVAL 2016 in TOKYO” which will be held at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Saturday November 26th and Sunday November 27th. There will be lots of Harajuku style artists performing there including Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and Natsume Mito. This is most definitely their home ground. There is no doubt they will enchant all with their protean dancing.

And just what will TEMPURA KIDZ bring us next? Anticipation will not die down as they lead Japanese culture and continue to gain international recognition.

Original Text: Noriko Ishimizu

TEMPURA KIDZ Official Website: http://tempurakidz.asobisystem.com/

MOSHI MOSHI NIPPON FESTIVAL 2016 in TOKYO: http://fes16.moshimoshi-nippon.jp/

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■Related article：Worldwide famous and popular Japanese artists including Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and CAPSULE to perform at MOSHI MOSHI NIPPON FESTIVAL!

Japanese techno-pop dance unit WORLD ORDER will join MOSHI MOSHI NIPPON FESTIVAL 2015 in SINGAPORE (Sep, 5 and 6) and MOSHI MOSHI NIPPON FESTIVAL 2015 in PARIS（Oct, 3 and 4）.

WORLD ORDER is a seven-piece Tokyo-based dance performance group formed in 2009. They are known for their looks that resemble hardworking Japanese businessmen – or “salarymen” – and highly detailed choreography that goes perfectly well with their synth-driven dance tunes. It didn’t take long for the world to take notice of the band’s talent – with many eager fans in Asia, North America and Europe, WORLD ORDER finally announced these long-awaited concerts in Singapore and France!

“We are very excited to perform to our international fans!” says a member of WORLD ORDER, who have been receiving a lot of messages from excited fans in other countries. On top of their regular performance, the group will prepare a special performance that consists of six members for those two locations.

By touring around the world, the MOSHI MOSHI NIPPON Festival team aims to promote the latest in Japanese pop culture. The team will be on the road throughout the year and will regularly announce more J–pop related events. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for more exciting news!

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MOSHI MOSHI NIPPON FESTIVAL 2015 in SINGAPORE

Date: Sept. 5 (Sat.) and 6 (Sun.), 2015

Location: Singapore

Venue：*SCAPE The Ground Theatre / *SCAPE Playspace

Ticket information:

Early Bird (Aug 6 to Aug 12): S$78/day

Normal (Aug 13 onwards): S$88/day

Admission to Exhibition Grounds and Day Stage Activities are free.

Artists：

Sept. 5: CAPSULE / Yasutaka Nakata (CAPSULE) / WORLD ORDER / TEMPURA KIDZ

Sept. 6: Nagi Yanagi / kz(livetune)feat. ANNA YANO / Hachioji P / TEMPURA KIDZ and more…

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「MOSHI MOSHI NIPPON FESTIVAL 2015 in PARIS」

Date: Oct. 3 (Sat.) and 4 (Sun.) 2015

Location: Paris, France

Venue: Le TRIANON

Ticketing information

Oct. 3: CAPSULE / Yasutaka Nakata (CAPSULE) / BOOM BOOM SATELLITES

Oct. 4: WORLD ORDER / Charisma.com / TEMPURA KIDZ

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