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Contact usMove like you mean it.
Hiroshi Sugiyama spent eight years teaching at a large commercial studio in Niigata before he got tired of the production-line approach to dance education. Classes of 30, a new face every week, and a curriculum that never changed because changing it was too much admin. He left in the spring of 2017 and spent three months converting a second-floor space in Chuo-ku into something smaller and more deliberate. Urban Sparrow opened that September with two classes, twelve students, and a playlist Hiroshi had been building for years.
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The name came from watching sparrows in the city. They are not impressive birds. They do not migrate to exotic places or have elaborate plumage. They just move with complete confidence in whatever space they find themselves in. That felt like the right idea for a studio. Not training people to perform on a stage, but helping them feel at home in their own bodies in any room they walk into. The first year was tight financially, and Hiroshi nearly took on a second job in January 2018. He didn't, and by spring the word-of-mouth had started to work.
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Contemporary dance for beginners: what to expect
Contemporary dance has a reputation for being either very serious or very abstract, and neither reputation is entirely fair. At the beginner level, it is mostly about learning to move from the inside out rather than copying shapes from the outside in. That distinction sounds philosophical but has very practical consequences for how a class is structured and what you spend your time doing.
Read the contemporary dance guide →How to start dancing as an adult in Japan
Most adults who want to start dancing spend about six months thinking about it before they do anything. The…
What hip-hop dance fundamentals actually cover
Hip-hop dance gets described as a style, but it's more accurate to call it a family of styles with shared…
Common questions
Do I need any dance experience to join a regular class?
Hip-Hop Fundamentals and Contemporary Flow are genuinely built for beginners. Jazz Funk moves faster and works better if you have some movement background, even if it's from a different style. If you're unsure, come to a trial class first and Hiroshi will tell you honestly where you'd fit.
How do I pay, and can I pay by card?
Payment is cash at the door for drop-in sessions. Monthly passes can be paid by bank transfer. There is no card reader at the studio currently. The trial class fee is ¥2,000 cash on the day.