Creating a Pan Asian Culture Through Classical Dance
Ken Kanesaka chased his dreams of breaking into kabuki. He did it. Now he's back in L.A. with dreams of bridging cultures.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.-Nearly eight years after becoming the first American to break into the cloistered world of kabuki in Japan, Ken Kanesaka is back on native soil. Onstage in Osaka with full makeup and flowing costume, he's known as Nakamura Gankyo, but on his college campus he easily blends in with the young California t-shirt crowd.
After all, even a professional kabuki artist needs his diploma.
"My father wants me to finish my degree because I only have one or two quarters left," said the 26-year-old Huntington Beach, Calif. native. In 1998 during his sophomore year at the University of California at Los Angeles Ken studied abroad in Tokyo and spontaneously moved to Osaka to attend kabuki training school where he graduated at the top of his class.
"Also when I go abroad for lectures, people always tend to ask me where did you graduate from? What is your degree is? And when you say, 'well, it's still pending at UCLA' ... people don't take you as seriously."
So after requesting a leave of absence from Japan's Grand Kabuki Chikamatsu-za, Ken reentered the world of academia - as a political science major.
"Yeah, I wanted to become a lawyer," laughed Ken about his former ambition.
In June, he's scheduled to don a less opulent type of costume - a graduation cap and gown. But in the meantime, this Japanese American (2.5 generation) is working on ambitious plans to build cultural bridges from Japan to the rest of the world. He plans to start from his own U.S. classical dance studios.
What? You don't use audiotapes anymore?
"I feel really old!" he exclaimed.
A few years away from American culture has made Ken feel lost amidst all the new technology - don't even talk about iPods, he can't get over CDs.
"In my kind of work, you're talking about a theater in existence for over 400 years and it's rarely, rarely open to the outside world," said Ken. "We still use tape for our practices!"
He's been slowly trying to ease back into American culture and slip into a few pair of jeans here and there.
"Over there you're supposed to be quiet, humble and not question authority and when you come back here especially in the academic world you're always talking and asking questions.
"But on the brighter side, it's really nice to try to interact with other students and to really get back into the academic atmosphere. One thing I really noticed was that everyone was just so friendly. In class people just start talking to you. It's kind of different from Japan where you have to be reserved and quiet," he said.
At the hilltop home he shares with his family, Ken is the portrait of perfect etiquette. He addresses people as "Mr." or "Ms." and utters an almost uncomfortable number of "pleases," but for a moment, the pristine demeanor parts for a very American eye roll especially when you get him started about the sad nature of Japanese classical dance in America.
In fact, he almost twitches in disgust.
"There are so many people who claim that they teach Japanese classical dance, but it's not. You're just adorned in kimono and have some white make-up on your face and running around the stage, but that's not the point behind it," he said. "I was really, really troubled with the idea of 'It's America. It's alright.' [Teachers] feel like they don't have to teach the fundamentals because they are so far removed and so far away."
Japanese classical dance isn't just a recreation it's an art. To know the art, you have to live and breathe the culture it's derived from, so Ken is heading up his own dance studios in various locations across California and Seattle.
"I really believe that in order for our culture to survive, we really need to emphasize it to our younger generations. I can help bridge the gap between Japan and America or even Japan and the rest of the world. I really, really want to start giving back to the community and to ensure the culture continues to grow over time," he said.
'What I will teach is to become a real Japanese classical dancer.'
On May 5th, Children's Day in Japan, Ken celebrated the grand opening of his Beverly Hills dance studio with a performance he choreographed himself. Over 60 invited guests watched him glide across his dance studio floor.
The date for the grand opening was strategic - May is also Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
"I'm not just Japanese. I'm Japanese American," said Ken, who has also taken over classes formerly taught by his Little Tokyo classical dance teacher Madame Bando Mitsuhiro.
He gives each student the options of more modern shinbuyo or classical koten, but it's all about learning the etiquette. The way you greet people, the way you bow, the way you present your hands your eyes your posture are imperative to understanding the art of dance.
"Ken has a deep appreciation for the importance of cultural heritage and legacy, but he is not limited by it," said Josephine Louie, co-founder and former artistic director of the UCLA Chinese Cultural Dance Club where she met Ken and immediately saw the spark of excitement in his eyes when he talked about dance.
With Louie, Ken is working on a dance project that fuses together Chinese and Japanese classical dance to show how both cultures have influenced each other. The story centers on two historical figures: The Chinese concubine, Yang Kwei-fei (or Yokihi in Japanese) and the Japanese Ono No Komachi, who was known for her beauty and poems.
"Ken understands that the cultural art form is a living thing that needs to evolve and grow with the generations, and with each augmented skill and refined interpretation the art form itself and the generations to follow will benefit from it," said Louie.
In the future, Ken wants to create a pan Asian dance troupe with influences from all over Asia.
"We are all directly linked somehow and one way to show it is through dance," he said.
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