The Tokyo Talk
Makoto Horikawa’s life changed when her mother took her to a dance class for the first time. She became entranced by the passionate movements, beautiful flowing skirts, and elaborate footwork that she saw in front of her. Every twirl, jump, dip, and step was mesmerizing. Makoto had known about different styles of dance like ballet, hip-hop, and jazz, but this fresh genre of dance triggered a feeling in her that she had never experienced. At just 5 years old, she knew what she was going to do for the rest of her life: Latin dance. 30 years later, Makoto Horikawa is pursuing her childhood dreams of being a professional Latin dancer.
Makoto Horikawa is a true Tokyo native, born in Hiroo and raised in Setagaya. She describes her upbringing as being a very “typical Japanese childhood”. However, she was not very “typical” at all. In fact, her pursuits made her incredibly unique, especially in a small suburban Japanese neighborhood. Makoto was a Latin dancer, a remarkable endeavor that very few people in 1990s Japan took on. She describes the fact that while most children hated being different or odd, she was drawn to the very idea of standing out. “At that time, there were not many children doing this dance,” Horikawa says. “So I was very happy that people found it unusual.” In her youth, she experimented with a wide range of different sports and hobbies including swimming, volleyball, and even judo, but nothing captivated her as much as Latin dance.
While many dancers who dedicate their lives towards becoming professionals tend to bypass traditional career milestones such as college, internships, and work experience, Horikawa made an effort to manage both her studies and dancing. She described herself as being a hard-working student with academic goals almost as big as her dance goals. She worked tirelessly in high school, and later attended a conventional 4 year university in Tokyo where she focused highly on her academics. Although the workload of being a college student was immense, Makoto continued dancing at any chance she had. “I loved dancing so much that I never wanted to give it up,” she explains. “A lot of people were surprised that I was able to dance and be a student at the same time, but it was easy for me. When you love something as much as I love dance, it doesn’t feel like work.”
By the end of her college career, however, Makoto was faced with a difficult decision. Upon graduation, she had accepted a job at a securities and investment banking company, but she knew that something did not feel right. No matter how hard she tried, she could not picture herself dedicating her life to a career in finance and discarding her years of commitment to her true passion for dance. Nonetheless, she undertook the job offer as she was unable to find other opportunities where she was given the chance to build a career as a professional Latin dancer. “I felt like I had to take the finance job,” she says while recounting her experience. “If I couldn’t pursue my dream, at least I would have financial security with my second choice.”
Mere months before her first day at her banking and securities job, Makoto received an email that altered the course of her life. “It was the best day ever,” she recalls. “It felt like I was given a lifeline.” That morning, she had received a message from a Latin dance professional and coach who was in search of a partner to continue his career with. “I was so grateful,” Makoto said. “All I wanted was an opportunity. I knew that if I was given an environment where I could pursue the dance that I love everyday, I would work my hardest to become the best dancer I could be.”
Globally, it is considerably difficult to pursue a career in fine arts whether it be acting, singing, painting, or dancing, and Japan is certainly no exception. Makoto was initially worried about the possible financial insecurity that comes with being a professional Latin dancer, but her love of dancing masked any doubts or anxieties about pursuing this profession. Her passion for dance was the only thought in her mind when she accepted the offer to continue her career. “I knew that nothing could make me give up dancing, so I figured that I should just go for it and see what happens,” she says. “I wanted to focus on the present so I never considered any Plan B or backup plan.” Horikawa explains that she did not have any other plans or paths to fall back on because her enthusiasm outweighed any hesitancy. “I thought that because I was given this opportunity, I shouldn’t think of any ‘what-ifs’ and just be grateful for what is in front of me now. I didn’t have any safety nets which some people thought was crazy,” she adds while laughing. “Luckily, it all worked out.”
Horikawa notes that she had an incredible support system that encouraged her to pursue her dreams. “I would not have been able to become a professional dancer without my family,” she explains while smiling. “My mom especially.” Horikawa’s mother was a dance teacher and once had the same incredible passion for dance as her daughter, so she was able to provide comforting wisdom and advice to guide Makoto on her journey to becoming a professional. “My mom is my role model and my example, so her support really motivated me to keep going forward. Knowing my mom would be there no matter what happened is what pushed me to try to achieve my dreams.”
Since pursuing Latin dance professionally, Makoto has also found an even larger support system, establishing her place in a tight-knit community of dancers in Japan. Through competitions and events, she has found some of her closest friends and even her husband. She met her husband, Okinawan professional Latin dancer Shota Sesoko, through a dance skills and technique class in 2017. At the time, both she and Sesoko were in search of new competition partners, so they exchanged contact information and began dancing together. Sesoko and Horikawa discovered their instant chemistry and went on to compete in numerous renowned competitions internationally, including the Blackpool Dance festival, the most famous annual ballroom and Latin dance competition in the world. The pair found that they worked incredibly well both on and off the dance floor and got married in 2020, looking to continue their careers as well as their lives together.
In addition to her husband, Horikawa has met some of her closest friends through dance. “It may seem like there is not a good community of Latin dancers in Tokyo, but there really is,” Makoto clarifies. “The community here is so tight-knit and so supportive. Everybody knows each other and wants each other to succeed.” Through numerous Latin dance competitions and events, she has met so many incredible people, six of whom are particularly important: Shota Sesoko (her husband), Satoshi Yuki, Chiharu Masuda, Yuji Hiroshima, Yuichiro Sueyasu, and Yuka Kimura. These six important people have now become her business partners.
Horikawa said that she was enjoying competing, but she felt like something else was missing from her life. “I was so grateful that I had discovered this sport when I was a child and had the chance to pursue it,” she explained. “I wanted to spread the passion I have for this dance to as many people as possible.” She turned her words into a reality in 2022, when she and this team of six professional Japanese Latin dancers combined their like-minded vision to open their dance studio in central Tokyo: The Zest. Horikawa describes The Zest as being a place where anybody of all ages and walks of life can experience the magic that Latin dance. “I wanted to create the best environment for pursuing this dance,” Horikawa explains – and she did. The Zest’s now 9 instructors are dedicated to fostering a love of Latin dance for every single one of their students. The studio’s clientele include students from ages 5-90, all genders, and several countries from across the world. Each instructor at The Zest is a champion in their specialized field of dance whether it be the foxtrot or the cha-cha-cha and each instructor has international experience, fit to teach a global student base. “Our main mission at The Zest is to spread the same love for dance I experienced when I first walked into a dance studio as a child,” Makoto says.
Since beginning her career as a professional Latin dancer over 10 years ago, Makoto has gone further than her five year old self could have ever imagined. She has won numerous titles, founded her own dance studio, and become a teacher to dozens of students. “I’m not finished yet, though!” Makoto adds excitedly. She has so many goals that she wants to fulfill during her lifetime. “My childhood dream was to become a 10 dance champion,” she mentions. A 10 dance championship prize is awarded to first a first place winner in all ten major social dance categories: waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, tango, Viennese waltz, rumba, samba, paso doble, cha-cha-cha and jive. “It hasn’t happened yet, but I will never give up. I’m working towards it everyday.” Horikawa works towards her dream daily, even flying out of the country numerous times a year to receive coaching from experienced dancers, including world champions. She attends rigorous workshops in Russia and England regularly, hoping to gain international insight into Latin dance from professionals all over the world. “In order to pursue Latin dance, I think it is necessary to learn from players and coaches overseas because there are not as many resources in Japan,” Horikawa explains. “Although it can be a little difficult especially due to the language difference, I will take any chance to be able to improve myself.”
“Latin dance is so special to me,” Horikawa says. “I spend every single day devoting myself to improving my dancing skills. I dance with such strong passion and emotion that it’s no exaggeration to say that I put my life on the line, so dance has become something indescribably special to me.” Makoto’s dream is to see people pursue their passion in dance. She hopes that every single aspiring dancer will work hard to achieve their goals and succeed in incredible ways. “I just want to let people feel the joy of dancing,” she says. “Tune out the rest of the world and dance like nobody’s watching!”
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