Originally from Okayama, Japan, Lily graduated from the Faculty of Law at Chuo University, where he also studied urban planning, community design, and commons theory. Motivated by a desire to engage directly with people through creative work, she chose to pursue a career in tap dance over academia and moved to New York City after graduation.
He received a scholarship at the world-renowned Stockholm Tap Festival in Sweden for her work promoting tap dance throughout Japan and Asia. Currently based in both Tokyo and New York, he has performed at numerous international events hosted at five-star hotels and embassies.
Him starring role in the film ENSEMBLE earned nominations and awards at international film festivals in Cannes, New York, Berlin, London, and Seoul. He has also performed at historic venues such as the Cotton Club in Harlem and The Iridium on Broadway alongside the internationally acclaimed jazz band The Hot Sardines.
After the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, he launched the Chair Tap Dance Project in Kesennuma, Miyagi, as a community-rebuilding initiative using tap art. That same year, he founded the Freiheit Tap Contribution Project, advocating “Chair Tap Dance” as a new form of inclusive dance expression. Him work spans disaster relief, community revitalization, elderly care, education, and disability inclusion.
Lily has appeared on NHK programs such as Asaichi and Gogo Nama, toi-toi and was featured in the Japanese government’s official publication Highlighting Japan. He frequently gives lectures and teaches at universities.
He also leads Africa’s first tap dance company, Tapatapa, and started a project teaching tap dance to children in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, working with local dancers to bring tap to its final frontier: the African continent.
Current Positions:
Lecturer, Chuo University Crescent Academy
Director, Chuo University Tap Dance Circle
Registered Artist, Agency for Cultural Affairs (Japan)
