Akemi Kinukawa

Akemi Kinukawa is a dancer, choreographer, and educator dedicated to preserving and uplifting the legacy of Lindy Hop—an art form pioneered by Harlem’s Black American community in the 1930s. Through performance, choreography, and community-centered education, she strives to honor the dance’s cultural roots and its values of joy, resilience, self-expression and inclusivity. As an immigrant whose life was transformed by Lindy Hop, she shares its history and spirit through arts-in-education programs, interactive performances, and adult instruction across New York City and beyond.

Akemi is the founder and artistic director of Project Connect, a dance company dedicated to bringing interactive Lindy Hop theater to underserved communities. She is also a Senior Teaching Artist with Dancing Classrooms, where she cultivates life skills through social dance in NYC public schools, and has taught adults at various studios, including You Should Be Dancing…! Studios.

As a performer, Akemi has appeared in major productions such as SW!NG OUT (a Joyce Theater production), Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis, and Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night Swing. She also dances with the Harvest Moon Hoppers, honoring the legacy of the Black American Lindy Hop pioneers of 1930s Harlem.