Author: KEC Emi

山本 真一郎 Shinichiroh Yamamoto

Originally from Fukuoka Prefecture. After graduating from the School of Letters, Arts and Sciences I at Waseda University, he completed a master’s degree in literary theory at the State University of New York at Albany. Before entering graduate school, he had never traveled to an English-speaking country, and on his first trip to the U.S. he was so anxious that he listened to English audio materials nonstop on the plane until landing. At the beginning of his studies, he could understand less than half of the graduate lectures, and once even went home in tears after being unable to make himself understood ordering a sandwich at the campus Subway because of his pronunciation of “lettuce.” Surrounded by strong-willed American classmates, he endured a grueling course of literary training through which his English improved dramatically.

After completing graduate school, he returned to Japan and joined a U.S.-based consumer goods company as an HR professional. Since then, he has built his career entirely in human resources, and he now serves as an HR Business Partner for the healthcare division of a U.S. multinational conglomerate, overseeing the Asia-Pacific region.

橋本 有子 Yuko Hashimoto

Born in California, USA, and currently based in Tokyo. After returning to Japan at 10 months old, she grew up there for 25 years. Following a year working part-time after graduating from university, she completed her master’s degree at Ochanomizu University and, despite not being able to speak English, boldly moved to the United States. Through a university course titled Arts for Children, she experienced learning English from the perspective of a child. She joined Geomantics Dance Theatre as a dancer and created and performed works both in Japan and abroad. In 2013, she realized her initial dream of “teaching dance to children in English” while completing her master’s degree in dance at the State University of New York.

Afterward, she earned certification in Laban Movement Analysis (LMA/BF), a system of qualitative movement theory, at the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in Brooklyn—a program that transformed her understanding of the body and movement. She returned to Japan in the spring of 2015.

She is now a full-time lecturer in physical education and dance at Ochanomizu University, teaches dance to young children, and provides LMA/BF training for specialists. She emphasizes creating a space for learning that is free, creative, and self-directed, nurturing both body and mind. In March 2018, she earned her Ph.D. in Sport and Health Science from Juntendo University.

Interview: An International Perspectives on the Arts
Interview: The Possibilities of Laban Movement Analysis