We recently connected with Barbara (Babs) Kobayashi and have shared our conversation below.

Barbara (Babs), thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I have been living in Japan for 14 years now, and even though I have a large circle of friends and a supportive community, I still find myself feeling homesick. Dance is a significant part of my culture and has always played a role in my life, so I decided to become a dancer as a way to stay connected to my culture and to have a sense of home with me no matter how far away I may live.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

As many of us I came to Japan as an English teacher. For those who may not know the work industry in Japan is your life becomes your work and everything else is second. I needed something besides work and the expat English circle I was constantly surrounded in. I’ve always had an interest in dance and I was fortunate to be introduced to a Latin, burlesque dance group. For the next couple of years I split my time between work and dance and as I dove deeper into the dance world doors slowly opened to more opportunities as a dancer.

Within my profession my main passion is being a backup dancer for various artist. I love making artists vision come to life on stage. I’m also a choreographer and a visual director. I started a dance circle that quickly grew into a dance school called C Dynasty Studio with a very dear friend of mine. I co-created C Dynasty studio because we realized that there is a lack of authenticity in the dance world and a safe space for all who has an interest in dancing. We offer weekly classes for beginners, special monthly workshops and a myriad of dance projects and performances that anyone can be involved in. The dance community in Tokyo can be very intimidating and we want to erase that stigma. I’m a black American woman who brings the culture of dance and my partner is a Canadian woman who is apart of the LGBTQ community. Us together, we represent a lot of people and it’s important that our dance studio represents that as well.

I’m so proud of who I represent as a black woman dancer who is living in Japan. When I see people flourish because of the safe space we provided them it reminds me why I started in the first place. I want to keep growing as dancer so that I can keep feeding back into my community of people. This keeps me going every time.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

As much as being a dancer is rewarding, it is also a tough industry. Dancers are a huge part of making a production come to life. Without dancers, many live shows, musicals, and even commercials would be boring or wouldn’t be as interesting without us bringing the vision to life. Dancers are an important piece of the entertainment industry, yet we are not always treated as such. We train our bodies and minds to morph into different characters. We are athletes, and while everyone can dance, it takes skill, time, and discipline to be professional. As a Black dancer in Tokyo, finding work is hard, so when I do have the opportunity for a job, I dedicate my all to it. I have to turn down many jobs because clients underpay so much and/or the work conditions are not healthy. I wish non-creative people would learn to understand that we are human beings, so work conditions should be the same for all people who are hired for a job. Just as you expect us to show up on time and be ready to go, we would also like to be paid on time. We should be compensated for the time and effort it takes for us to prepare for your job. Many dancers have given up their dream of being a professional dancer because it’s hard to make a livable income. It may look like my life is fun because I only post certain videos and pictures on my social media, but I’m fighting every day for my family to make it as a dancer. Dancers shouldn’t have to change their careers; the industry needs to change its perception of dancers.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

There was a moment when I was second-guessing my career path. My number one interest is being a backup dancer. I love being on stage. In Japan, it’s important that you blend in and make yourself invisible if you want to dance with other artists. This is my greatest hurdle because I stand out from Asian dancers. I was really down about it until my mentor looked me in the eye and told me I didn’t need to set my goal at being a backup dancer in Japan because I was bigger than that. It can be a goal to achieve, but don’t set your standard there. Hearing those words from one of the greatest pioneers of hip-hop released me from my fear and doubt. Hearing those words has kept me going down my path, breaking down barriers and doors.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cdynastystudio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/babs.xoxoxo?igsh=MWJocmE5bjg3d2dxZg==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/r2z8t8yRUjyhK6uP/?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbara-kobayashi-b1693386?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

Image Credits
Alexander Morales Rama Iyona “Iyonauniqu” Lexi Webster