Dancing with Lives is a documentary that follows ten years of a New York based Japanese dancer Mutsuyo, who after losing her whole family in an earthquake in Japan, discovers love and courage with fellow artists and her new Jewish family.

     The camera follows Mutsuyo since right after Hanshin Awaji Great Earthquake that devastated the city of Kobe in 1995, where her whole family was killed under a collapsed building. She encounters warm support by New York artist community, and her inspiration for the art of dancing keeps her going. Marriage with Norman, a son of Holocaust survivors, opens a new chapter in her life. Then, after 10 years later, camera revisits her and her family to witness how their lives were affected by the event on September 11th, 2001.

       Filmed in New York City, Florida and Japan, Dancing with Lives tells an honest, compelling and extraordinarily intimate story of an inspired young woman. Despite the tragedies Mutsuyo and her family experience, the film is filled with humor, joy and dignity as the energy of the peoples shines through the uplifting narrative.

Running Time: 71 min.

Language: English and Japanese (available with subtitles in both)

Director/Producer/Camera/Editor: Kyoko Yokoma

Online Editor: Rick Miller

Sound Mixing: Sean Karp