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April 15: House Dance – Dance Happens Everywhere with Emiko Sugiyama 

Emiko, joined by dancers Andrea Lomelin and Juliet Mendoza, breaks down some foundational steps for House Dance and then puts them all together in a dynamic sequence that will bring the club to anywhere you are!

Emiko Sugiyama is originally from Tokyo, Japan, where she trained in classical ballet. She moved to the United States to study in college in 1999 where she was introduced to Hip Hop dance, which became her communication tool as she struggled to express herself in English. Emiko is not only a performer but also an educator, choreographer, producer, artistic director, community builder, and mother.  Emiko has performed with numerous dance companies such as Illstyle and Peace Productions, Jelom Bel, One Step Ahead, Antics Performance, Montaz Performing Art Company, and Rennie Harris Puremovement, and produced festivals, events and programs including The Annual J.U.i.C.E Hip Hop Dance Festival at Ford Amphitheatre and the Bgirl Challenge, a ten week intensive breakdance training session to boost the confidence and skills of emerging female dancers and Hip Hop Island a youth summer camp to introduce at-risk youth to the positive artistic elements of the hip hop culture. In 2009, Emiko and her friends founded Open House which is a weekly dance session where people share the love of House music and dance. Today, Open House has about 2,000 active community members in Los Angeles. Emiko currently teaches Open House at Pieter Performance Space.