LET’S DANCE Gold Coast kids embrace tradional Japanese dancing
Teiko Fujita studied ballet, hip-hop, modern dance, contemporary dance, flamenco and more. Now her love for the art of dance has taken a different twist
She has danced in theme parks in Japan. Now Teiko Fujita is bringing her talents to children on the Gold Coast as she begins traditional dance lessons in Helensvale.
TEIKO Fujita was enrolled in ballet at age three because her mother saw her posture declining.
Unbeknown to the famly, it
was the start on the path to a career in dance that would stretch across almost a decade.
Ms Fujita has studied ballet, hip-hop, modern dance, contemporary dance and flamenco, but she said working at Universal Studios, where she started traditional dance,
wasn’t never a dream.
“I worked there for just two years, but from there ... I worked in Parque Espana for four years,” she said, describing her time dancing at Japan’s Spain-themed park.
After 10 years dancing in various parades and shows, leg and back pain sent her all the way from Japan to Byron Bay to study yoga.
“I was having a vacation, a working holiday, then when I got my yoga licence, I thought I should go home,” she said. “But then I was like, ‘why’?” Four years after her big move to Australia, she now has the chance to teach Gold Coast kids her favourite sport.
Every week since the beginning of April, a steadily growing group of children has marched into the Helensvale Community Centre, ready to learn traditional dance.
Ms Fujita said the classes, in which students as young as four, teach teamwork first and foremost, as well as Japanese culture, mental strength and concentration.
“Everyone supports one another, even explaining everything properly in English,” she said.
“There are a few kids who understand a little or don’t understand much Japanese, so parents and students help out.”
Saori Wabbo started her half-Japanese son Kaiki, 8, in the classes as a way for him to embrace her culture, saying she thought it looked “cool”.
“Their world widens, but it also becomes closer,” said Ms Wabbo, adding she thought it was important for all children to learn about other countries.
“If they know about various different countries, I think we‘ll all be able to get along better.”
The classes are not only limited to children from Japanese families, according to the school’s head, Katsumi Maddison.
“The more the better, whether they’re Australian, whether they’re Japanese, they should join in,” she said.
Japanese Dancing Mai holds its kids classes every Monday at the Helensvale Community Centre, 4pm.