Where can I dance contact improvisation in Japan?
Yokoso (Welcome)!
This page is for international visitors to Japan who are looking for places to dance contact improvisation (CI). Dancing CI while traveling in another country can be a truly delightful experience, offering a unique way to connect with people beyond language barriers.
Contact improvisation classes, workshops and jams are mainly found in the major cities in Japan.
Most CI communities and groups in Japan have websites or social media pages where you can find more detailed information. See the column on the right—or scroll down if you’re on a phone—for a list of places to dance (** in no particular order) along with additional resources.
CI festivals and upcoming intensive workshops
Below is a list of some multi-day CI workshops and residencies happening in Japan in the coming months. Please see each event page for details.
*** October will be a month to dance CI in Kagoshima Prefecture (Southern Japan)! ***
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October 7 ~ 13th, Humble CI Gathering,
Ibusuki, Kagoshima Prefecture. Very first CI gathering taking place at the gorgeous tip of Southern Kagoshima Prefecture organized by Mikis Tapaswi.
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i-dance Japan festival hosted by CIco, Kagoshima
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October 2 ~ 5 (Yakushima)
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October 19 ~ 26 (Jisso)
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October 29 ~ November 1st (Jisso)
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Registration opened on July 1st - join to celebrate dancing and life! You may also have the chance to dive into (contact) improvisation infused with a unique Japanese essence. This event is organized by Chico Katsube and Shoko Kashima who have grown deep, beautiful roots in Isa, Kagoshima Prefecture.
Check out the Tokyo CI calendar!
Launched in April 2025, this Tokyo CI calendar allows you to see all of the upcoming CI-related happenings in Tokyo (and surrounding areas) on one calendar. Amazing!
For inquiries, please contact the organizer of the event you are interested in.
Join the Tokyo CI LINE Group to receive recent updates!
https://line.me/ti/g/aR35HZICIw
In Japan, people use LINE for communication and a CI Tokyo LINE group was created by a free spirited dancer, Benni (thanks Benni!) to share information about CI offerings around the Tokyo area.
This open chat would be one of the places to ask people if they want to get together and dance at the park, for example. While most of the communication happens in Japanese, there are a handful of people who speak English in this group, so you will be in good hands ♡
FYI : the CI World Jam map page (https://www.contactimprov.com/asia.html) does not have up to date information with respect to dancing CI in Tokyo.
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Please be respectful of the guidelines of each community and/or space. The following is a good principle to adhere to:
"CI has a basic principle that each person takes responsibility for themselves. I am the only person who can be responsible for my body, so I need to keep a part of me awake - the part that can sense and communicate (physically or verbally) my needs, limits, and desires. I need to keep myself safe and from here I can begin to care for the group" - Martin Keogh, Dancing Deeper Still
a mindful note
This page is intended to be comprehensive but it may not have ALL of the up to date information as things are always in motion. Please accept our imperfections. We are also open to feedback so if there's something else that may help facilitate your dancing journey in Japan, please kindly let us know.
Thank you!
このページでは、できる限り包括的な内容を目指していますが、すべての最新情報が反映されているとは限りません。もし情報に誤りがあったり、ご自身の（コミュニティの）説明が気に入らない、または不適切だと感じた場合は、どうぞお気軽にお知らせください。まだまだ至らない点もあるかと思いますが、何卒ご理解いただければ嬉しいです。
ありがとうございます！
This page was last updated on September 29th, 2025.
Why kintsugi? Because at times the CI communities and groups in Japan can feel or be sensed as separate, existing in their own entities. The hope on this site is to bring those people together, to come together, despite the past wounds and/or separate ways that we have gone (or not gone). By doing so, we may come together to create one beautiful "we" of CI Japan. The vision of this site is to help connect and cultivate ties. To celebrate the love we share for dancing and contact improvisation.
Tokyo
For most of the CI happenings around the Tokyo area, please check out the Tokyo CI calendar for details about time, location, and person of contact, etc.
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Tokyo Contact Improvisation
Yasukichi Suzuki, one of the long time CI teachers in Japan, offers classes in Tokyo’s Ota Ward. She also teaches regularly in Nakano (see below) and hosts a monthly “Tsuki Jam,” often featuring live improvised music. Deeply fascinated by CI in water, her teaching style is gentle, humble, and profoundly moving — even on land.
email : yasukici☆gmail.com (please change the ☆ to @)
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Tokyo Nakano Jam (東京中野ジャム)
Izumi Kuribayashi regularly organizes CI workshops and jams, collaborating with a diverse array of talented facilitators. The group cultivates openness and a spirit of experimentation, creating a wonderfully welcoming space for anyone curious about CI and/or exploring other somatic and improvisational practices. To learn more or get connected, you can email Izumi or reach out via Facebook.
email : izumikuribayashi@gmail.com
FB : Izumi Kuribayashi
Minori Nagai and Ryuhei Uemoto create art projects, performances, and also offer contemporary dance classes and workshops at their cozy AAPA studio, one of which is CI (Adachi ward). The two are very warm-hearted and thoughtful.
email : aapajp@gmail.com
FB : AAPA（アアパ／Away At Performing Arts)
A unique group established in 2023 promoting art, performance, and community. CI workshops are currently organized by Tatsuya Yasumoto in the Naka-meguro district. Tatsuya's theater background and athleticism is sure to add flavor to the CI experience. Please see Para Collage's CI tab for updates.
Upcoming workshops: 10/5, 10/24. 11/14, 11/28
A dedicated CI practitioner and passionate in her teaching, Yurie hosts jams in Tokyo’s Bunkyo district. Please see the Tokyo CI calendar for details on time and place.
Upcoming jams: 10/5. 10/18, 11/15, 11/22
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Contact Work
Hanano Teshirogi; a true gem, dancer/actor, privately organizes workshops and jams through CI -bu (CI部) in Suginami-ward, Tokyo. Check her IG for upcoming workshop information.
IG : contact_work
email : hoeimiki25@gmail.com
Upcoming ws: 9/29, 10/7
CI communities and groups beyond Tokyo
A non-profit organization founded in 2014 with the purpose of enjoying and promoting CI. The core members of this community are super kind, energetic, and welcoming. CI Aichi usually holds lab and jam sessions 2 - 3 times/month, mainly in Nagoya and Toyota cities.
email : dancec.i.aichi@gmail.com
FB : CI あいち (CI Aichi)
IG : ci_aichi.japan
Upcoming labs/jams: 10/11 (Sat, 12:30 ~ 14:30) , 11/5, 11/8
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CI brisa Kyoto
Launched in August 2024, CI Brisa is an inclusive community for anyone who loves CI. This vibrant new group dances primarily in Kyoto and Osaka.
Core members: Kanami Itakura (organizer), Kaishi Murata, and Miwa Shimizu
email : ensembleplay818@gmail.com
IG : ci_brisa.kyoto
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Monochrome Circus
Based in Kyoto, Monochrome Circus is a contemporary dance company led by core members Kohei Sakamoto and Yuko Mori. For over twenty years, they have been offering CI classes in Kyoto and across Japan.
FB : Kayou-contacto (火曜コンタクト党）
IG : monochromecircus.kyoto
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Osaka CI study and practice group
Contact jams have begun springing up recently (2025) around Osaka. The Kansai crew is both wonderfully welcoming and delightfully nerdy about CI.
Upcoming Jams: October 20 - 21 (outdoor CI)
Contact persons: Mia Liu (劉晶) via FB or IG, Miwa Shimizu
Facebook group, (access request needed)
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CI in Kagoshima
Chico Katsube and Shoko Kashima (CIco), two extraordinary longtime CI artists, regularly create spaces for exploring CI, dance improvisation, and performance across Japan. In recent years, they have also been hosting intensive workshops in Isa, Kagoshima, where they share their rich and abundant gifts.
IG : cico_chico_shoko
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CI in Fukuoka (コンタクトインプロ福岡）
Spearheaded by Daisuke Yamamoto, the community in Fukuoka has re-started practicing CI together once or twice a month.
email : d.yamamoto0101@gmail.com
FB：コンタクトインプロ 福岡
Upcoming CI & improv sessions: TBD
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CI in Isumi, Chiba
Akane Jishage CI organizes experiential workshops in Isumi city, Chiba Prefecture. Generally held on a monthly basis, the AAPA folks (see above, in the Tokyo section) are usually the facilitators.
info (in Japanese) : https://www.aapa.jp/ci-isumi
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CI in Hiroshima
Monthly CI practice sessions are organized by a wonderful dance artist Masako Kushima (Qoo-san) around Hiroshima city.
Upcoming practice session: TBD
sky after Nishinomiya Underscore 7.21.2025
More CI - tunities (opportunities)
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CI in other locations
While not occuring on a regular basis, CI opportunities are starting up in places like Shizuoka, Northern Kyoto (Keihoku), Shiga, Uenohara (Yamanashi), and Yakushima Island (Kagoshima). So perhaps, you may luckily stumble upon something during your travels!
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Other dance spaces
Not CI centric; however, there are locations that offer neat creation workshops and/or opportunities for movement research, which may include elements of CI. Just a few examples: Session House in Kagurazaka (Tokyo), NPO Dance Box (Kobe) and Dance Base Yokohama.
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CI in rural Japan !?
My dream is for there to be a CI community in rural Japan sort of like Larret a Venir in France, as well as other delightful CI communities I stumbled upon in Southern France. Recently, Mikis has launched the Somatic Living Project in Ibusuki, Kagoshima Prefecture. If you'd like to dance in rural Japan by the beach and in a hot spring area, his residencies may be the perfect thing to dive into!?
CI Festivals in Japan
A biannual CI festival organized by CIco (Chico Katsube and Shoko Kashima). Chico and Shoko moved to Isa, Kagoshima Prefecture in 2012. Since then, this festival has been held on beautiful Jisso camp grounds. i-dance stands for international dance and this is because it is a festival that is held also in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Seoul. Japan is one of the sites.
Organized by C.I.N.N., Hiroko Takahashi and a group of CI enthusiasts, the Tokyo CI festival generally takes place every year during the Golden week holiday. The festival is often held in Tokyo by Yoyogi Park, but at times it is held elsewhere. The most recent festival was from April 28th ~ 30th with Kirstie Simson and Charlie Morrissey. Next year it will be held in Katsuura, Chiba prefecture with Andrew Wass from May 2nd ~ 5th.
This festival occurs in mid-August, the hottest time of the year in Japan! Held 28 times thus far, the festival has a variety of offerings including a week long CI intensive with a jam on the very last day. Katja Mustonen from Finland will be returning again this year to teach the CI intensives. This festival has a diverse array of offerings, outside of CI. Definitely worth checking out!
IG: hotsummerinkyoto
i-dance Japan festival 2023, Jisso campground
