Blank State

During the first months of Covid-19, Lani Yamanaka and Megumi Iwama weren’t sure where their dancing bodies and artistic professions fit. Blank State was born from this desperate, emotional need to create.

Directed by Lani Yamanaka and Megumi Iwama

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Winner announced Friday, June 11th!

Lani Yamanaka is a professional Dance Artist, Educator, and Movement Director based in Southern California. Lani grew up training and competing in Judo, a Japanese martial art, under her father and sensei - a martial art form she cherishes and continues to carry layered in her dancing body. She has danced professionally with Entity Contemporary Dance, ODC/Dance Company, Daniel Ezralow, The Shed NYC, and is a dancer with Akram Khan Company. Before the initial Covid lockdown she spent over a month in Dhaka, Bangladesh training 25 local dancers and ultimately performing Father: Vision of the Floating World. An experience captured in MOVE, a Netflix docuseries following five dance giants pushing boundaries. Lani studied Broadcast Journalism under Doug Green where she learned the ins and outs of live production and a love for editing. She graduated from UC Irvine with BFAs in Dance Performance and Choreography.

Meg Iwama is a New York City based dancer and performer. She was born and raised in Southern California, where she began her dance training at age 6. She danced competitively in Irvine, CA training in diverse styles and starting her career in the commercial dance industry. Meg trained at the University of California, Irvine where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts-Performance as well as a Bachelor of Fine Arts-Choreography, training under highly distinguished professors and being a member in modern dance legend Donald McKayle's Etude Ensemble.

Upon graduating, Meg was invited to work with director Boroka Nagy as an original company member for the contemporary company, Re:borN Dance Interactive. She worked with them for 4 seasons performing in interactive and site specific work. Prior to moving to New York City, Meg also trained for one season as a member in professional Adult competitive performance company, Rogue Makers under artistic direction of Beau Fornier. There she had the opportunity to perform in Carnival LA and various Hip hop competitions such as Arena LA, and Bridge Dance Competition. In NYC, Meg has had the opportunity to work with Mari Meade Dance Collective for a season before having to shut down for Covid-19. She looks forward to sharing the stage with other members of the dance community again!