Meet Kanami Kusajima | Dancer, Performing Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kanami Kusajima and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kanami, why did you pursue a creative career?

I pursue this career simply because I love it.

I think it is impossible to be a freelance performer like myself if you don’t love doing it. Especially for me as a street performer, most of the time, nobody tells me to come to a particular place at a specific time, or nobody teaches me choreography. I am the one deciding when and where to go and perform, and I am the one who takes all of the artistic choices.

I can do all of this just because I love dancing and performing. Even if nobody is watching, I dance for myself anyway. That is why I do this, and that is the only reason.

People eat food every day, no matter what, even though nobody asks them to eat. Why? Because they love eating, and they know that they cannot live without eating.

Dance is something like that for me. Dance is a necessary nutrition for my body and soul.

And there was a time during the pandemic I realized that my dance also has the power to heal, encourage, and save other people. So, as long as those people exist, I will keep performing.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I was already determined to become a professional dancer as a middle schooler. Even though I never doubted my career choice ever since then, it was difficult for multiple reasons.

One of them is that my anatomical body structure was not suitable to be a modern/contemporary dancer, which I was aiming for when I was in college. One day, I had to measure the degree of my hip sockets’ turnout to convince my ballet teacher (because ballet technique is still a required skill in a lot of modern/contemporary dance companies, and it was a required course in my college) that I REALLY can’t do 180-degree turnout.

After working with a physical trainer in the school’s dance department, we discovered that my hip sockets have only 80 degrees of natural turnout. The physical trainer explained to the dance teacher, “If you have 120 degrees of natural turnout, it’s possible to make it 180 degrees by training. But from 80 degrees to 180 degrees is just impossible.”

It might sound like just a physical difficulty, but going through all of this was emotionally painful too. I did everything I could, but still, my body was “unsuitable” for the dancer I wanted to be. I seriously thought about quitting my dance major, but I was already a senior at that time, so it was apparently too late to make such a change, so I just graduated as a dance major in May 2020, in the middle of a lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

How did I overcome the challenge? I honestly don’t know.

I just could not give up on myself. I was just more persistent than anyone else.

Now I look back and see that, no matter how many people failed me as a dancer, I always liked my own dance the most.
When nobody accepted me as a part of the cast of their dance pieces, I was devastated, but after all, I still loved the way I danced and believed in my dance.

And today, I am so glad that I never gave up. I truly learned that being in a dance company is not the only way to be a professional dancer, and I am proud that I proved it.

Most of the time, nobody directs me to what to do anymore. I dance in my own way, and that is how I make my living. As long as you don’t forget to thank people around you and be grateful for what you have, it is very much possible–that’s what I want all people to know who is willing to be a dancer.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend came to NYC, I would definitely take her to my street performance home, Washington Square Park…!

I honestly don’t care much about other places–I would be happy to go to wherever she goes. Probably art museums, theater shows, famous bridges in the city, or some little quiet gardens and riverside parks…depending on what she wants to see the most.

I just know for sure that I MUST take her to Washington Square Park. It is one of the places where you will see most of New York’s uniqueness, and I want her to experience it.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are an uncountable amount of people I’d like to thank, but here they are, to name a few.

-Pinokio (painter) who taught me everything about street performance and its culture in Washington Square Park
(https://www.instagram.com/pinokio_takurohinokio/)

-Non.sleeper (photographer), the biggest supporter of mine who kept taking photos of my performance from December 2020 until today
(https://www.instagram.com/non.sleeper/)

-All of the fellow street performers/artists in Washington Square Park

-All of the people who supported me by any means including, but not only donations, letters, flowers, drinks, food, crystals, books, rings, drawings, paintings, music, smiles, winks, thumb-ups, kind words, and sharing the space & time with me.

-Ms. Susan Sarandon, who took videos of me dancing and shared them on her platforms, which gave me a lot of hope and confidence (https://twitter.com/SusanSarandon/status/1336450385402327040?s=20)

-New York Nico, for listening to me and sharing my story with millions of people
(https://www.instagram.com/newyorknico/)

-Shivang Chandna & Anish Basava, who designed and created beautiful performance costumes for me
(https://www.instagram.com/shivaangchandna/)
(https://www.instagram.com/anish_cou/)

-All of the organizations who have supported me and believed in me, including but not only;
ChaShaMa (https://www.instagram.com/chashama/)
The Trops (https://www.instagram.com/thetrops/)
yosemic (https://www.instagram.com/yosemicnyc/)
Street of Sound (https://www.instagram.com/streetofsound/)
NYC BuskerBall (https://www.instagram.com/nyc_buskerball/)
Arc’teryx New York (https://www.instagram.com/arcteryxnewyork/)

-All of the newspaper writers, media representatives, journalists, and interviewers who kindly took the time to listen to me and share my voice with the world

-All people whose paths crossed with mine and gave me inspiration.

Website: https://www.kanamikusajima.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lethairdown/

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/kanami-kusajima-3405a21b5

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Let_Hair_Down

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LetHairDownNYC/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@KanamiKusajima/

Other: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lethairdown Online Store: https://let-hair-down.creator-spring.com/

Image Credits
All photos by @non.sleeper (https://www.instagram.com/non.sleeper/)