Katsumi Sakakura :
Katsumi Sakakura was born in Aichi Japan. He began to learn karate and the nunchaku at ten years old (He is a black belt). He started street dance at the age of 19, and became an instructor of Hip Hop at the age of 25. He created the new style “ORIENTARHYTHM” that combined Karate and Nunchaku with street dance at the age of 27. He organized the dance unit in 1999 by same name “ORIENTARHYTHM” with Eiko Masuda. This unique dance style has been introduced in magazines and newspapers in the United States, Germany, South Korea, Hong Kong and appeared in many television programs. In 2003, he became a champion in the U.S. TV program “The Talent Agency”. Especially his dance style which uses the nunchaku receives high acclaim all over the world. He is also a choreographer, povided choreography to Japanese top artist Namie Amuro. And, he produced and performed for five days in Off-Brodway(New York) “Hip Hop meets Japanese” in 2007.

Eiko Masuda :
Eiko Masuda was born in Kyoto Japan. She began to learn Japanese calligraphy at eight years old, and learned traditional cultures of Japan such as Japanese tea ceremony and the Japanese harp at ten years old. She graduated from the special school of “fitness & dance” in 1987,at which time her dance instructor activity begins. She became a member of ORIENTARHYTHM in 1999, and has been a member since, where she performs worldwide.

What’s ORIENTARHYTHM
We have been constantly striving to express “Japanese Cool” through dance. Japan’s traditional culture has “Japanese Cool” crystallized in it.
We first started to study about the uniqueness of Japan’s traditional culture and realized that karate poses and kabuki stances have distinct rhythm and movements. We extracted this rhythm and movement, and combined it with street dancing to create a totally new type of dance. This is the “ORIENTARHYTHM” which was created in 1999. Our dance utilizes nunchucks(see note below), which conveys a sharp and dynamic form that mesmerizes the audience.
Through our original dance style, we would like to introduce “Japanese Cool” to everybody around the world. We also hope that our dance performances will become a catalyst to generate an interest in Japanese culture.
Our dance is performed so that everyone, both young and old, can enjoy “Japanese Cool”.
Japanese “Manga”(comics) created many fans all over the world. One of the reasons for this is that you don’t need any basic knowledge of traditional culture to understand it.
Following in the footsteps of “Manga”, the dance of “ORIENTARHYTHM” will express today’s Japan!
(note)Due mostly to stereotyping in movies, nunchucks are regarded as being used in Chinese kungfu, but they actually originate in Japan. “Ryuku Kobujutsu”(Ancient Ryuku Martial Arts) was developed in Okinawa around the 12th century, and nunchucks were devised from a farming tool as a self-defense weapon.