The open call for the competition ran from June 3 to June 30, 2026. Judging will focus on a willingness to explore new forms of expression, originality of ideas, and future potential. Applicants must be residents of Japan aged 25 or younger, no prior experience as a choreographer is required.
PROGRAM
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Competition under25
- 01.30 [Sat] 16:00
@Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse No.1 3rd floor Hall
01.30 [Sat] 16:00
Tanaka Nobuyuki
“SUNBURN”
Yui
“Becoming Figure”
Suzuki Hiyori
“I said,”
Maekawa Tomoka
“In the Case of Kaneko Tōta”
Suzaki Yuma
“Spell”
nbula
“3”
Odoru Sportsman Lab
“Attention Detox”
JURY
Suzuki Takuro (Head of the dance company CHAiroiPLIN, Dancer, Choreographer, Director)
Hamano Fumio (Senior Editor of Shinshokan Dance Magazine)
Yoshigai Nao (Filmmaker, Dancer)
Nakatomi Katsuhiro (Chief producer of Yokohama Arts Foundation)
Outstanding New Artist Prize（Eligibility: Under 25）
Support for the creation of a new work and an opportunity to perform at the following year’s Yokohama Dance Collection
=Participants in both the [Professional] and [Under 25] categories are eligible for the following awards=
*The MASDANZA Prize, Studio Architanz Artist Support Prize, and Toyohashi Arts Theatre PLAT Prize will be judged by specialists from the respective organizations.
Prize of the French Embassy in Japan – Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels, for young choreographers
Residency program in France
MASDANZA Prize
Right to participate in the Contests or perform in a Program in MASDANZA, The International Contemporary Dance Festival of the Canary Islands, Spain.
Studio Architanz Artist Support Prize
We will decide upon consultation regarding the provision of the studio use (creation support, opportunity for work-in-progress, holding workshops) and free attendance to classes.
Toyohashi Arts Theatre PLAT Prize
Provide the opportunity for residency at Toyohashi Arts Theatre PLAT
studio1125
Tanaka Nobuyuki
Born in 2003, he is a graduate student at Ehime University. He was exposed to dance from an early age and discovered creative dance while at Ehime University. Majoring in Information Science, he is currently dedicated to research on dance motion analysis using AI technology, while also incorporating a wide variety of dance styles—regardless of genre—into his practice.
He participated in a program for emerging choreographers held in Matsuyama. He received the Judges’ Award at ART.M2024 and ART.M2026.
Yui
Originally from Nagoya. She began dancing in the fourth grade of elementary school. During her senior year of high school, she joined the youth team of KADOKAWA DREAMS and began studying hip-hop in earnest. She is currently studying contemporary dance at Japan Women’s College of Physical Education under Iwabuchi Takiko, exploring the possibilities of physical expression from her own unique perspective.
Suzuki Hiyori
She began hip-hop dance at age 5, studied jazz dance and classical ballet in high school, and studied contemporary dance in college. She was a finalist in “IMPRESS DANCE COMPETITION Season 2.” Currently enrolled in the Department of Dance at Japan Women’s College of Physical Education, she is exploring the possibilities of expression that does not presuppose being communicated.
Maekawa Tomoka
She engages in performance and haiku, and has extreme flexibility.
She studied performance and arts management at Professional College of Arts and Tourism. After graduating, she joined Haioku LLC, where she manages Artist-in-Residence (AIR) programs and strives to create a “Comfortable Chaos”
She has previously performed in works by Kitamari, Tada Junnosuke, Hirata Oriza, Minamino Shie, Yamashita Zan, and Watanabe Hisashi, among others.
Since 2025, she has been a member of the performance collective
yuzu
Suzaki Yuma
Second-year master’s student at Niigata University of Health and Welfare. After a 15-year career in competitive swimming, he discovered dance during his freshman year of university. He is currently a project member of the NEphRiTE dance company. He posts daily improvisational dance videos on Instagram. He loves bread and parks.
nbula
Formed on October 24, 2025. The name is derived from the Fijian word “BULA,” meaning “to live,” “life,” and “greeting,” and the letter “n,” which represents the energy of freedom and resonance. Their debut work, “3”, won First Prize in the Group Division at the SAI Dance Festival 2026. Through dance, they explore society, art, and the question of “what it means to live.”
Odoru Sportsman Lab
They perform as the resident company of the “International Children and Youth Theater Miyazaki” (creative dance). All of the members are middle and high school students. They were the youngest finalists (age 13) in the New Choreographer category at the Yokohama Dance Collection 2024. The judges described them as “youth who are contemporary dance natives.” Just like “namstrops,” we are determined to go beyond those we have looked up to—and push even further ahead.