WORKSHOP

Same Body, Different Presence | Workshop by Yuri Yamamura

7:00 - 8:30PM, Monday, April 6, 2026
Murasaki Hall at the Japan Foundation, Los Angeles
(5700 Wilshire Blvd, Ste 100, Los Angeles, CA 90036)

Please register HERE
Free, RSVP Required

This workshop explores how the presence of the same person can shift through one's way of being through Japanese performing arts. Drawing on her experience performing male roles in the Takarazuka Revue and her background in a family of Nihon Buyo artists with over 220 years of history, Yuri Yamamura guides participants through movements.

In the first half, participants practice posture, walking, and vocal expression inspired by historical samurai leaders, experiencing how physical form and intention shape presence. In the second half, without changing the body or the kimono itself, Yamamura demonstrates how a shift of the obi can transform one’s presence. Participants are then introduced to the refined movements of traditional Japanese dance. *No prior experience is required. Participants of all backgrounds are welcome.

Yuri YAMAMURA

Yuri Yamamura is a Japanese classical dancer born into a family of Nihon Buyo (Japanese Classical Dance) artists whose lineage spans over 220 years. Raised within this enduring tradition, she began performing at the age of three and has since devoted herself not only to preserving this heritage but also to expanding the possibilities of Nihon Buyo. For 15 years, she performed as an Otokoyaku (a female performer specializing in male roles) in the Takarazuka Revue under the stage name Harumi Yu. Through embodying male roles on stage, she cultivated a powerful physical presence and a deep understanding of how form transforms the self. Now performing under her given name, Yuri Yamamura, she moves between two artistic identities — two names, two faces — using both to broaden the expressive range of classical Nihon Buyo. By integrating theatrical embodiment with traditional Japanese aesthetics such as Ma (the space between) and Rei (embodied respect), she presents Nihon Buyo not as a distant tradition, but as a living, evolving art form. Through both performance and education, she continues to explore new ways of sharing the subtle strength and refined beauty of Japanese culture with audiences in Japan and around the world.