Dancing In The Streets

Sokerissa are a homeless dance troupe based in Tokyo. They were founded in 2005 by choreographer Yuuki Aoki and hold regular performances in Tokyo, around Japan and they have travelled to Brazil and India to perform. The group provides a way of engaging with the world that can often be lacking in the lives of homeless people in Tokyo - who are predominantly men over the age of 50, who have found themselves on the streets, often due to not being able to, or wanting to, live within the contraints of Japanese society.

At the time that this project was shot - 2023, there were six regular members of Sokerissa and each member has his own story about how he found himself living on the streets of Tokyo. Most of the dancers now live in some form of sheltered accommodation, but are always precariously close to being back on the streets. One thing that most have in common is the lack of a family network to offer support and so they have to rely of the state and the society to offer any form of help, which is often woefully lacking. Sokerissa fills a gap that is vital for many of these men to have some sense of purpose and engagement with life.

You can find out more about Sokerissa and their work on their website https://sokerissa.net/