"Salsa in Japan: A Japanese and Latino Mix"

Written and produced by Elizabeth Chamberlin. 2003. 25 minutes.

This documentary explores the recent boom in salsa dancing and salsa clubs in Japan, which have become venues for the cultural mingling of Japanese people and Japanese-descent South American immigrants to Japan. It introduces us to two types of salsa clubs in Japan, one attracting more Japanese and the other drawing more of the Japanese-Latino immigrants and workers. Each group has a different way of dancing and different reasons for going to the dance clubs. The clubs that are predominantly Japanese focus on dancing well and on looking stylish. Most of the clientele take salsa lessons seriously and even enter competitions (a la "Shall We Dance?"). The clubs that draw a largely Latino crowd are much more places for parties and having a good time. Some of the immigrants are accomplished dancers, but others not. Some are even learning to dance salsa in Japan, because it's not in fact a universally "Latin" dance. The main attraction of these club parties is the chance to get together and relax with other Latinos. The parties are times to forget the difficulties of working and living in a country to which they are connected by descent but often alienated by everyday experience.