Manizia Kajiwara began her journey in Modern Ballet at a young age and later expanded her training to include Classical Ballet and Jazz Dance. After graduating from university, she moved to New York, where she explored various dance genres while performing avant-garde works choreographed by Ruby Shang. During her time in New York, Manizia collaborated with Butoh dancer Akaji Maro and Bill T. Jones in Ruby’s projects and served as Ruby’s assistant at the American Dance Festival. A pivotal moment in her career came when she participated in a dance project for 15 pregnant women at St. Mark’s Church, performing while in her final month of pregnancy.

After giving birth, Manizia returned to Japan, where she continued to perform during subsequent pregnancies and with her children after they were born. For 13 years, she organized charity performances with her children, bringing together around 100 diverse participants across generations to support Asian street children.

In 2006, Manizia founded Walewale Works, a collaborative dance group in Fukuoka that brings together disabled children, their families and caregivers, and professional dancers. The group continues to create and perform unique works that celebrate inclusivity and creativity. Inspired by her eldest son’s diagnosis of a mental illness, Manizia developed a performance piece exploring auditory hallucinations, which included her son as a performer. This led to performances and discussions on the theme of “To Live,” staged both in Japan and internationally.

In recent years, Manizia has expanded her work to include dance initiatives for children with serious illnesses in partnership with medical institutions. In 2014, she was captivated by a presentation on Dance for Parkinson’s (Dance for PD) by David Leventhal in Wales. Motivated by this experience, she attended a Dance for PD seminar in Brooklyn and began leading workshops for the Fukuoka Parkinson’s Disease Association in 2016. These workshops, named **PD Dance**, were inspired by a participant’s observation that “PD” stands for both Parkinson’s Disease and Perfect Dance. Since 2019, with support from **Paracadance**, Manizia has introduced innovative programs such as the **PD Dance Café**, held at theaters and universities. These events combine lectures by medical professionals, dance workshops, and separate discussion sessions for patients and caregivers to welcome newcomers to the world of PD Dance.

Manizia’s work continues to evolve, with dance workshops and performances for diverse groups, including school refusers, teens in juvenile detention centers, and victims of domestic violence. She has fostered international exchange through collaborative projects, such as performances between community dance groups from the UK and Fukuoka at the **People Dancing Festival** in Wales. Another notable project involved site-specific performances at international port terminals in Busan and Fukuoka, featuring 50 local performers from each city.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Manizia launched online dance workshops for stateless children in Malaysia and for supporters of immigrant and refugee children in Myanmar. These workshops have since expanded into in-person sessions and creative projects in Malaysia, further showcasing her dedication to bringing the power of dance to underserved communities.

For more about Manizia Kajiwara’s work, click here.
Email: wale_waleworks13 at yahoo.co.jp