JILL TANIOKA - YUEN
FOUNDER OF DANCE JUNCTION HAWAII

Creativity is often a solitary pursuit and passion. You test yourself against standards that you impose on yourself. And if you’re serious, you test yourself against others. At that level, the pursuit of creativity can be a harsh and unforgiving process.

Jill Tanioka-Yuen has never shied away from testing herself and her passion for dance. As early as age 11, she was choreographing, teaching, and performing as a soloist.

But it was her dream to develop a creative environment that allowed girls and young women to challenge themselves, physically and mentally, within a community of support and cooperation.

For the past four years, Tanioka-Yuen has been living her dream through Dance Junction Hawaii. It is a studio of 23 girls and young women, aged 3 to 23, who are organized into four squads that are based primarily on talent and ability. Their repertoire ranges from hip-hop to gymnastic moves. What they’re really learning is confidence and discipline.

“It’s rewarding to see the girls grow into responsible and accountable (young) adults, using dance as an avenue to do so,” says the 35-year old Tanioka-Yuen, herself the mother of 4-year-old Coby.

With every girl who takes classes or joins the company, Tanioka-Yuen sees an opportunity to channel passion.

Lyndsey Arakawa, a member of Dance Junction Hawaii’s College Squad and a sophomore at University of Hawaii-Manoa, has been with Tanioka-Yuen since she taught at ‘Iolani School. The most-important thing she has learned has been “to pursue my dreams with all my heart and to work hard to get there.” Arakawa attributes some of her academic success to Tanioka-Yuen as well, stating she “wouldn’t have done as well without the discipline learned from Miss Jill,” as their teacher is known to students.

On Saturdays, Arakawa and Laura Kagami, a member of the Silver Squad and sophomore at Iolani School, help teach and choreograph for the younger girls (most of whom are under 7 years old). Together with the older dancers, Arakawa and Kagami lead by example for the next generation of company members.

Kagami remembers the days when she danced in the company’s back line during company’s annual showcases. Keeping her eyes fixated on the girls in front of her, Kagami now dances with the girls she aspired to be like. “I remember seeing Erin (Manago), Lyndsey (Arakawa), and Marisa (Takiguchi) dance and how much I wanted to be like them…Now I know I’ve made it to the front because of the hard work I put in over the years,” Kagami recollects. The hard work and discipline is reflective of the instruction by Tanioka-Yuen.

“She doesn’t just say ‘OK, do it again’ when I show her things,” Kagami refers to her first self-choreographed solo she’s working on, “She says, ‘That was good but try this,’ which is more constructive and helpful.” Arakawa enjoys Tanioka-Yuen’s easy approachability as well: “You don’t have to be the best dancer to be noticed by Miss Jill…(She) doesn’t let any dancer fall through the cracks.”

For her part, Tanioka-Yuen says “the girls taught me to be more affectionate … Cianna (Levi) and Laura (Kagami) would always come up to me at the end of practices, give me a hug, and say ‘thank you.’”

She has also learned to be honest with the girls. “I won’t say ‘OMG that was so good’ when it really wasn’t,” Tanioka-Yuen says. But when she is drawn to tears, the girls know they performed well. But if it isn’t good, “I don’t talk…that’s when they know (it’s bad).”

Above all, Tanioka-Yuen says she works to develop a company culture that nurtures as well as pushes the girls to strive to be their best. “When we go to competition, we see other teams (being very competitive) within their own squads. But our girls cheer for each other…(They) understand that it’s about succeeding as a team. It’s not all about getting to the front (row),” she says.

That attitude has resulted in Dance Junction Hawaii being both a company and second family to many of its members. “(The girls) are the ones you invite to your grad party and the ones you can talk to when you can’t talk to your parents,” says Arakawa. Erin Manago, now a freshman at the University of Southern California, often refers to Tanioka-Yuen as her “second mom.”

Tanioka-Yuen’s ability to care for her dancers and company as her second family is in large part due to the people who help her behind the scenes. Fred Yuen, her husband, is not only her go-to music cutter and slideshow maker but also acts as Tanioka-Yuen’s second pair of ears. “She always has an eye and ear out for new music,” says Yuen. “She is always dancing around the house with her earphones on…I didn’t know much about what goes into dance before I met her.”

Another driving force behind Team Tanioka-Yuen is Sue Tanioka, Jill’s mother.
As Tanioka-Yuen’s cheerleader since birth, Sue Tanioka continues to support her daughter by traveling with Dance Junction Hawaii and babysitting grandson, Coby.

Dancing has been a way of life for Tanioka-Yuen since she was a young girl. “I would dance all around the playground at school,” recalls Tanioka-Yuen.

Sue Tanioka remembers the day little Jill came home from St. Andrew’s Priory announcing she was going to join Drill Team Hawaii: “I had never heard of anything like it before…I thought it was something like JROTC.”

“Through Drill Team Hawaii, I think I learned commitment, how to prioritize, and what it meant to dance competitively,” Tanioka-Yuen says.

Unlike some other private dance programs, Dance Junction Hawaii doesn’t own its own studio. Classes are held at the Moiliili Community Center during the week. On weekends, the Aloha Activity Center in on Kapiolani Boulevard is the troupe’s practice venue.

Tanioka-Yuen formed the company after teaching dance for others. Her longest stint was at ‘Iolani School, where she helped run an after-school dance program for 10 years. She was also a member of the Rainbow Dancers while at the University of Hawaii-Manoa.

But Tanioka-Yuen always wanted to direct her own company. That dream became a reality in 2005 when she formed Dance Junction Hawaii.

“Starting Dance Junction Hawaii was a matter of stepping outside of what was known and comfortable…like a leap of faith I took as well as the dancers (that first year),” she says.

It takes commitment to both run Dance Junction Hawaii and to be a part of the company. In fact, company members practice two to three times a week. Girls who are there to take classes usually meet one to two days a week. The fee is about $9 per class, which doesn’t include the cost of costumes for competitions and special performances.

Today, the company continues to grow and it does well at local and regional competitions. But the big deal for Tanioka-Yuen is that another generation of dancers learns what it means to apply focus and discipline to passion. And, as she was for so many younger girls, Tanioka-Yuen _sees the power of having those girls become creative role models for a younger generation.

“We finish each season with our annual showcase and feature the company and classes… We also graduate the seniors… (They) inspire the younger girls who want to be like them.”

Story by Gerilyn Manago
Photos by Aaron K. Yoshino

For more information on Dance Junction Hawaii:
www.dancejunctionhawaii.org

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