This Saturday night, the Japanese tap artist Naomi Funaki will be taking the stage at Guild Hall (158 Main St., East Hampton, 631-324-0806), along with several other dancers and musicians she has hand-picked, to perform her new show, “Ikigai.”
The dance is an original work of choreography, inspired by the traumatic events experienced by a dear friend of Funaki’s during the deadly and devastating 2011 Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami. If that sounds more like the source of inspiration for a film or a novel than a tap dance, then it’s time for you to come experience the passion and vision of this performing art form — one that, as Funaki puts it, is both dance and music.
Funaki, 28, discovered tap at the tender age of 7 after her mother brought her to see a musical in her home city of Tokyo. “It was a kids’ musical and I was like, ‘Hey mom, I want to be on stage! Would you take me to dance school?'” So she did — but the closest dance school wasn’t ballet or modern; it was tap. “It was a happy accident,” laughs Funaki. “Since then, I’ve only done tap. This is my 21st year as a dancer.”
Funaki, who made her first trip to dance in New York City 10 years ago and has been living there for the last several years, sat down with us to talk about inspiration, collaboration and the burning final question: How long do those tap shoes last, anyway?
Southforker: Tap originated in the United States — but it’s not a dance form typically connected with Japan. Is it popular there?
Naomi Funaki: It is, surprisingly. The tap community there is really big, but I think as a performing art it’s not as big as in the U.S.. You have beautiful, very technical Japanese artists in tap but it’s really difficult to make a living as a performing artist at a young age.
SF: In this show you created for Guild Hall, you perform and collaborate with other dancers and musicians, correct?
NF: Yes. In my show, the music is original and a lot of it is composed by [Japanese musician and drummer] Mikiya Ito. When I was looking for dancers, I think I have a strong vision, so I was really specific about the dancers who are performing with me. I have the best people — beautiful dancers. One is a break dancer who is also a musician. To me, everyone has two rolls in this company because tap is music.
SF: When you choreograph a tap performance, do you approach it with a beginning, middle and end? Is it all choreographed or does some of it come from the feeling you have in the moment?
NF: There is a lot of improvisation. I learn by studying everybody.
SF: What inspires you?
NF: My mentor, Ayodela Casel, taught me so much — about dance, about being human in this world. She always asks me: Naomi, what’s your dream? Where do you want to be in three years? I always say, ‘I love to perform I want to see my own stuff and what I create on stage!’ In 2022, I was invited to work with Dance Lab [New York], and they provided me with studio space and dancers. It was really technical and it allowed me to see my vision come to life. It was a beautiful experience. As a Japanese woman doing tap dance, I think for me my goal is to get really inspired every day, for every opportunity. To discover American artists like Sammy Davis Jr., Jimmy Slyde and the Whitman Sisters. I think every moment of my life I get to discover more and learn new information that inspires me. And if my work can be part of someone else’s inspiration? That’s a beautiful thing for me to do in my life.
SF: What do you think people should know about tap?
NF: Tap is very percussive. We have a high toe pitch and a low bass sound that comes from the heel, and we use those sounds. We are dancers and also at the same time, we are musicians.
SF: How long does a pair of tap shoes last you?
NF: Well, it depends. I like when the leather is fresh and crispy! Some like how it becomes soft over time. For those people, a year or so. For me, I’d say every six months is better.
“Dance Out East: Naomi Funaki – Ikigai” is Saturday, Jan. 10 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Get your tickets here.
