TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) — Sixty-nine-year-old Masayoshi Koiso has lived on the streets of Tokyo for about nine years but has for six years now found a new purpose — dancing.
Thanks to a group called Newcomer “H” Sokerissa, he and many other homeless people hope to contribute to the arts as they perform their dances in outdoor locations across Japan ranging from parks to temples.
Dancer and choreographer Yuuki Aoki, who founded the group 10 years ago, says he didn’t create the group to help the homeless but saw them instead as people with potential in the performing arts.
There are currently eight members of the group, although the numbers fluctuate year to year. Several of the members are not currently homeless but were at some point in their lives.
Even though the members are new to dance, as the group’s name suggests, Aoki said they are trying to explore what is at the root of human expression, through dance.
Last year, three of the members traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to perform with homeless people there before the Olympics.
The group’s dances are not choreographed. Aoki said he stopped trying to teach specific moves because it restricted expression. Instead, he gives each member a string of expressions – “swallowing the sun,” “breathing the universe” – to guide their movements.
