Contemporary Dance Festival "Dance To Connect" Kicks Off. A Night Where Physical Expression Connects the World and Tokyo. Experience Three Intersecting Dance Artworks Live on May 15 at Shibuya Hikarie.

Dance To Connect is a project that creates a space for dance artists active across countries, cultures, and languages to meet Japanese dancers and audiences. Through creation with artists at the forefront of global contemporary dance, it provides Japanese dancers with the opportunity to directly experience world-class creative processes and present their work. Simultaneously, it offers audiences an experience to feel a diverse range of contemporary dance more intimately.

【Three Pillars of Dance To Connect】

① Creation
World-leading choreographers and Japanese dancers meet to create new physical expressions through dialogue.

② Education
It provides learning opportunities to deepen body and senses, as an open space for everyone, transcending borders and cultures.

③ Expansion
It brings new perspectives and insights through physical art, expanding the possibilities of dance into society.

In its inaugural year, 2026, we welcome choreographer Ken Ossola, who has been active with the Netherlands Dance Theater led by Jiří Kylián, one of the leading artistic directors and choreographers of our time, and has also served as Kylián's assistant, to Tokyo. He will conduct a workshop for new creations with young Japanese dancers selected through auditions, and the results will be presented at the "Festival Performance."

The festival performance will be held on May 15, 2026, at Shibuya Hikarie 8/ in Tokyo.

In this performance, in addition to the new work created in the workshop, a new solo work by Dance To Connect founder Madoka Kariya, "Moving Mountains" (choreography: Ken Ossola), will be presented.

Furthermore, an improvisation session transcending genres will be showcased, featuring clarinetist Hidehito Naka, who is active in various music production fields including the Saito Kinen Orchestra, film, and animation; former Batsheva Dance Company contemporary dancer Chiaki Hotta; and hip-hop dancer Karim, who has participated in D. League and fuses diverse styles.

Bringing together three works born from different creative processes, the program is structured to allow audiences to experience the diverse forms of contemporary dance.

A program talk will also be held to introduce the background and creative process of the works. This will be an opportunity for dance enthusiasts, as well as those new to contemporary dance, to enjoy the charm of contemporary dance spreading globally.

DTC was founded by Madoka Kariya, a former Netherlands Dance Theater 1 (NDT1) dancer who is currently active as a dancer and model based in Amsterdam, and is hosted by Broadway Dance Center, a dance training school with 42 years of history in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It is an international cultural project implemented with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Dance To Connect aims to develop into an international dance festival that includes gala performances, workshops, and talk events, not only in Tokyo but also in cities across Japan and around the world, aspiring to become a new platform connecting the global dance scene.

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【5-Day Creation Workshop with a World-Renowned Choreographer】

For this inaugural year's project, we invite Ken Ossola, a Swiss-born choreographer currently based in the Netherlands and active globally, as a guest choreographer.

Ossola, after being active with the Netherlands Dance Theater led by Jiří Kylián, one of the leading artistic directors and choreographers of our time, has provided works to dance companies worldwide as a choreographer, including Boston Ballet, Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and Shanghai Ballet.

Young Japanese dancers selected through a preliminary audition will participate in an intensive 5-day creation workshop in Tokyo in May 2026. Those gathering are next-generation performers possessing both solid fundamentals and rich sensibility.

Starting from the sensations and improvisational skills residing in their bodies, Ossola will engage in dialogue to create new works.

The process itself, where dancers with different backgrounds intersect, accumulating discoveries and changes moment by moment to sublimate into a single work, is also a major charm of this project.

The completed work will be premiered at the "Festival Performance" held at Shibuya Hikarie.

＜DTC Creation Workshop＞
Dates: May 10 (Sun) - May 14 (Thu), 2026
Venue: Shinjuku Mura Studio and Broadway Dance Center (Shinjuku, Tokyo)
*During the workshop period, visits to the workshop and interviews with the choreographer/director are possible.

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【3 Works to be Performed at Dance To Connect "Festival Performance"】

In this performance, three works with different creative methods and physical expressions will be showcased. A program talk will also be held during the performance to introduce the background and creative process of the works. This will be an opportunity for dance enthusiasts, as well as those new to contemporary dance, to enjoy its charm.

Through this project, where expressions from different cultures and fields intersect—physical expression cultivated in the global dance scene, the energy of young Japanese dancers, and improvisational dialogue with music—we propose new ways for Japanese audiences to enjoy contemporary dance.

＜ACT 1 Workshop Choreography / Workshop Creation Work＞

Choreography: Ken Ossola
Performers: Workshop participating dancers
・A new creation by a world-renowned choreographer and young Japanese dancers will be presented.

＜ACT 2 Director’s Solo / Solo work by DTC Director Madoka Kariya＞

Work Title: Moving Mountains
Choreography: Ken Ossola
Performer: Madoka Kariya

Music: Martino Müller
・A solo performance presenting the world view of Dance To Connect through physical language cultivated on European stages. Created in Amsterdam, this Tokyo performance will be its world premiere.

＜ACT 3 Improvisation Session / Improvisation Session with Musicians＞

Performers: Hidehito Naka, Madoka Kariya, Chiaki Hotta, Karim

・An improvisation session featuring clarinetist Hidehito Naka, contemporary dancers Madoka Kariya and Chiaki Hotta, and hip-hop dancer Karim. We deliver unpredictable performances born from the dialogue between music and body on the spot.

【Dance To Connect Festival Performance Information】

Date & Time: May 15, 2026 (Fri) 7:00 PM start / 6:30 PM doors open

Venue: Shibuya Hikarie 8/COURT (Shibuya 2-21-1, 8th floor, Shibuya-ku)

＜Tickets＞

Price: Advance 5,000 yen / Door 5,500 yen (tax included)

Ticket Pia P-code: 541-513

Ticket Purchase Page

*Seating: All seats unreserved *Doors open 30 minutes before the performance *Children under school age not admitted

<BDC Member Benefit> 500 yen will be refunded upon presentation of BDC membership card on the day.

【March 2026 Ken Ossola and Madoka Kariya in Amsterdam】
Scenes from the creation of the solo work "Moving Mountains"

＜"Moving Mountains" Trailer video is here＞