Adelaide Sakura Troupe

Productions

Collective Members

• Mimi Yoshii Director & Founder

  Mimi was born in Japan and began dancing at the age of 4. Alongside her ballet training, she studied Nichibu, Japanese classical dance, in the Wakayagi-ryu tradition. She grew up in a traditional cultural environment shaped by her grandmother, Sōki Hanafusa, a master of Japanese tea ceremony. After relocating to Australia, Mimi has performed at major arts and cultural events, including OzAsia Festival, Adelaide Fringe and Adelaide Festival. In 2021, she met Munetaka and began learning Japanese folkloric performing arts from him. Their ongoing collaboration led to the creation of new works and the formal establishment of Adelaide Sakura Troupe.
• Hanna Instrell-Walker Associate Director, 2022–2023

  Hanna is a contemporary dancer with a desire to pursue choreography whilst collaborating with film and other art forms. With her Japanese heritage, she creates work that fuses Japanese aesthetics with contemporary dance practice, both in her own projects and with Adelaide Sakura Troupe.
• Natsumi Oda Performer

Collaborators

• Munetaka Umehara Dramaturg, 2021–present

  Growing up in Izumo, the cradle of Japanese mythology, Munetaka came to appreciate folklore and mythology as part of everyday culture and community. That interest continued throughout his life. As a lecturer in Japanese, he spent much of his spare time travelling across Japan to research the folkloric traditions of the countryside, including Ainu ceremonies, harvest festivals throughout Honshu and the celebrations of Okinawa, with particular attention to the fue, the bamboo flute and its role in accompanying dances. In 1993, he and his wife moved to Australia to establish a translation business. Settling in Adelaide, he became involved in Japanese cultural performances, training volunteers to perform at festivals and special occasions. He has also taken part in cultural events in Indonesia, Norway, Hong Kong and Rwanda.
• Gail Umehara Costume, 2021–present

  Gail has worked across many fields: public servant, librarian, indexer, editor, lecturer and interpreter, with language and organisation central to each role. Sixteen years living in Japan gave her deep familiarity with the language and culture, and her return to Australia has brought ongoing opportunities to support cross-cultural work, including with Adelaide Sakura Troupe.
• Kunyi Wu Performer, 2023

  Kunyi is a Chinese born, SA (Kaurna land) based independent dance artist and educator. Since she graduated from Adelaide College of the Arts, Kunyi has developed an interest in exploring and researching human connection: socially, emotionally, culturally and physically. She enjoys working with people of different ages and disciplines, translating these experiences into her own practice.

inSPACE collaborators, 2023: Sam Lau (Composer) & Nicky Tsz Tung Li (Tech Operator)

Pre-development community participants, 2021–2022: James Norman (Musician) & Mia Kishimoto Smith (Performer)