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By Ren\u00e9e Tillotson<\/span><\/i><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Yumi Inamine took my breath away as she moved onto the dance floor at Still & Moving Center\u2019s 12th birthday celebration. Her dance looked effortlessly unrestrained. As one of Elizabeth Lenz-Hill\u2019s Contemporary Dance students, she incorporated both choreography and also free, vibrant, unrepressed expressivity. Her joy in the dance spilled out onto the mango wood floor and into us, her audience.<\/p>\n In a way, Yumi expressed the relief that so many of us feel at being able to dance with each other in person again, even while we continue to dance joyfully online with our distant friends.<\/p>\n Like many Citizens of the Future (which is Still & Moving Center\u2019s theme in our 2023 almanac), Yumi reaches across the world\u2019s cultures. She is a polyglot\u2026 you know, one of those people who can speak a number of languages fluently. Yumi\u2019s mother was a local Hawaiian girl who spoke English to her and brought her to the islands frequently. Her dad spoke Okinawan to her grandparents – though not to his children – and her school teachers taught her Japanese, the official language now in Okinawa. As you will learn, Yumi also speaks fluent French. Now that she\u2019s moved to Hawai\u2019i, she\u2019s added some Pidgeon to her repertoire.<\/p>\n No doubt born under a dancing star, baby Yumi arrived into her family\u2019s waiting arms in Okinawa, where she was raised amongst people with musical talent. Her mom played Ke\u2019alli Reichelle and a lot of other good Hawaiian music, and many family members were musicians. In Okinawan school she learned Okinawan fan dance, as well as drumming and martial arts in her PE classes.<\/p>\n Yumi got to dance hula briefly and ballet a lot in Tokyo where she attended college. In love with ballet as well as French cinema, she enrolled in a foreign exchange student program. When she landed as \u201ca little island girl\u201d, all alone in Leon, France, she was immersed in a completely new culture and language, for which her French classes in college could not fully prepare her.<\/p>\n Her time in France started as one of her life\u2019s greatest challenges. \u201cYou feel like a nobody at the beginning. They called me Chinese because they couldn\u2019t tell the difference between Asian people.\u201d True to form, Yumi danced through the tough times. Her bright smile and sincere efforts to learn their language eventually charmed the people of her host country and they opened their hearts to her by the time she left.<\/p>\n After graduation, Yumi moved to O\u2019ahu, and someone at the East West Center advised her to come dance at Still & Moving. She loved the decor immediately, as well as the welcoming feeling and the variety of classes and teachers. However, the pandemic hit shortly thereafter, and she sheltered in place with her family on island.<\/p>\n Venturing out again, Yumi got a job in August of 2022 at the Honolulu airport based on her French! No doubt her Japanese comes in handy as well. She works in their Visitor Information Program helping people from all over the world who are lost or need translation services or other forms of assistance.<\/p>\n What would she ultimately like to do? \u201cI want to live in Hawaii, stay connected with family back home, and be a bridge to connect and promote Okinawa to the world.\u201d Already a place for vacations and honeymoons for the Japanese, Okinawa can provide warm and welcoming culture to anyone in the fast-paced business world. Yumi intuits that citizens of the future will embrace the whole globe.<\/p>\n Yumi loves being back at Still & Moving Center as her work schedule allows. As a fan of the TV show, So You Think You Can Dance, Yumi felt drawn to Elizabeth Lenz-Hill\u2019s Contemporary dance class. She felt delighted to be taking class with another avid dancer close to her grandmother\u2019s age, Naomi Kanai. \u201cShe was someone I could finally speak Japanese with again!\u201d recalls Yumi.<\/p>\n Our 12th birthday celebration was the first time in years that Yumi had performed. \u201cI really loved Elizabeth telling us, \u2018Stretch, don\u2019t hesitate! Enjoy your dance from the bottom of your heart.\u201d<\/p>\n Those of us in the audience recognize how closely Yumi followed her teacher\u2019s suggestion!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#000000″ text_line_height=”2.4em” header_3_font_size=”32px” custom_margin=”-71px||1px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”] [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/still-moving-center\/id1424600988″ url_new_window=”on” button_text=”APPLE APP STORE” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#FFFFFF” button_bg_color=”#fe9440″ button_border_color=”#fe9440″ button_border_radius=”24px” custom_margin=”||||false|false” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”right” animation_duration=”1550ms” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.fitnessmobileapps.stillandmovingcenter” url_new_window=”on” button_text=”GOOGLE PLAY STORE” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#FFFFFF” button_bg_color=”#fe9440″ button_border_color=”#fe9440″ button_border_radius=”24px” custom_margin=”||||false|false” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”right” animation_duration=”1550ms” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_colors_info=”{}” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_colors_info=”{}” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yumi Inamine By Ren\u00e9e Tillotson Yumi Inamine took my breath away as she moved onto the dance floor at Still & Moving Center\u2019s 12th birthday celebration. Her dance looked effortlessly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":25668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"yes","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[125,143,180,184],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-letter-from-the-director","category-magnificence-in-our-ohana","category-related-meditation-culture-articles","category-related-yoga-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/yuki-birthday-portrait-dance-1.png” title_text=”yuki birthday portrait dance” align=”center” disabled_on=”off|off|on” _builder_version=”4.20.2″ max_height_tablet=”400px” max_height_phone=”” max_height_last_edited=”on|tablet” custom_margin=”100px||-5vw||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”0px||0vw|0px|false|false” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/yumi-naiomi-bday-dance.png” title_text=”yumi naiomi bday dance” _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||50px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/yuki-dance-moves-dancing-birthday.png” title_text=”yuki dance moves dancing birthday” _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||50px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/yumi-inamine-1.jpg” title_text=”yumi inamine 1″ _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||50px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/yumi-2.jpg” title_text=”yumi-2″ _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||50px||false|false” custom_padding=”7px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/yumi3.jpg” title_text=”yumi3″ _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||50px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/naomi.png” title_text=”naomi” _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||50px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”2″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.16″ width=”100%” max_width=”1500px” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”30px|30px|30px|30px|true|true” custom_padding_tablet=”30px|20px|30px|20px|true|true” custom_padding_phone=”” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_colors_info=”{}” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,2_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ background_image=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/yoga-instructor_96.jpg” custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ background_image=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/lanikai_hoop-edit-scaled.jpg” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#24394a” background_image=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/body_background.jpg” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”60px|60px|60px|60px|true|true” custom_padding_tablet=”50px|10vw|50px|10vw|true|true” custom_padding_phone=”30px||30px||true|false” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ header_text_color=”#9a5206″ header_2_font=”santana||||||||” header_2_text_color=”#9a5206″ header_2_font_size=”2vw” header_2_line_height=”1.1em” background_layout=”dark” max_width=”800px” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”|||0px|false|false” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”45px” header_2_font_size_phone=”35px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\nGet the Still & Moving App<\/h2>\n