Miyu Talks Life-Changing Bruno Mars Collab & Becoming CAA’s First Japanese Dancer: Unbound Japan Interview
Categoria: Musica
Billboard Japan spoke with Miyu about what she's gained over the course of her career so far, and the future she's aiming for as a dancer.
Por Billboard | 10/09/2026
Unbound Japan is a Billboard Japan interview series featuring entertainment industry professionals based outside the country and those working to expand Japan’s music out into the world. This installment features dancer Miyu, who at age 19, won the house division of JUSTE DEBOUT 2017 WORLD FINAL, the world’s premier street dance battle competition. She went on to expand her career both in her home country and abroad, culminating in September 2025 when she became the first Japanese dancer to sign an agency contract with Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Billboard Japan spoke with Miyu about what she’s gained over the course of her career so far, and the future she’s aiming for as a dancer. At the Billboard Global Power Players 2026, held on June 12, you took the stage as a presenter and honored CAA’s Marlene Tsuchii, who received the Artist Advocate Award. Could you tell us about how you met her? I only met Marlene fairly recently, but thanks to her I was able to sign with CAA, my horizons broadened, and my imagination for what I want to do really expanded. Being able to call out Marlene’s name on that stage was a huge honor, and it’s rare for a dancer to attend an awards ceremony like that, so I felt it was an incredibly valuable opportunity and really enjoyed it. Speaking of that agency contract with CAA, it was a landmark achievement as the first for a Japanese dancer. What led to the contract actually coming together? In Japan, dancers often play a role that’s about making the artist shine, or a lot of them end up working as instructors. But in Los Angeles and South Korea, dance and music sit much closer together, and I really felt that dancers are recognized as artists in their own right, acknowledged by society at large. I once told an artist I’d worked with that I wanted to see that kind of world become the norm and that I wanted to go further abroad, and they were able to introduce me to people. From there, one connection led to another, and it eventually led to the contract. The agency contract with CAA is a major milestone. Has anything changed for you since then? Nothing has changed in a big way yet, but my own mindset has shifted a lot. It feels like I’ve suddenly stepped onto a huge stage, into an unknown world. Looking back on your career, at 19 you won the house division of JUSTE DEBOUT 2017 WORLD FINAL, the world’s top street dance battle competition held in Paris. What do you think was the key to your win? It’s partly up to the judges’ decisions, so I can’t say for sure, but I can say with confidence that I practiced more than anyone. Thanks to that, I wasn’t nervous going into it, and I think I was able to free myself on that big stage and deliver the best performance I’d ever given up to that point. Did winning at JUSTE DEBOUT affect your career afterward? Of course, I felt happy, almost like I couldn’t believe it, and I think the way people a