Mioi Nakayama, Part 3
Open up children's minds and bodies through dance

Mioi Nakayama (back row, second from right) and children from Bornfree Art School take a break during a rehearsal of their play which appeals for peace. (January 2011)

Mioi Nakayama

Born in Hiroshima in 1977. After graduating from Rikkyo University, she worked at the Japan International Center for the Rights of the Child (JICRC). In 2002, she went to India. In 2005, she became involved in a photo project to help draw attention to the issue of child labor, and this led to the founding of the Bornfree Art School. As well as serving as Bornfree's co-director, a role she assumed in 2010, she is responsible for the children's dance training. She lives in Bangalore, India.

Because of my interest in the issue of child labor, I moved to Bangalore, India in 2004. One day, I noticed an article in the newspaper about an art exhibition with pieces made by working children. I visited the exhibition and I happened to meet an artist named John Devaraj, 55, who was working as a sculptor and painter and was involved in other artistic activities.

As I had the idea of taking photos of working children, I quickly agreed to his suggestion that he teach children how to use a camera and then have the children themselves take photos of their peers alongside me. However, when I saw children working or begging on the street, I easily grew emotional. John told me, "If you're crying, you can't change anything. You should feel anger at a situation where children are suffering and that anger should empower you to help change the society." His words struck a chord, and I could then take photos, too.

Bornfree Art School, where I serve as co-director, is the embodiment of John's experience and dreams. It is a place where working children and children who live on the street are able to glimpse a new way of life through art. Since I became involved in founding the school in 2005, I have become aware, from the children's perspective, of such issues as the Dalit people, who are considered "untouchables" in India, and the oppression faced by women and children here.

The core concept of Bornfree Art School activities is "peace." In India, the government spends 300 times the amount of money on the military as it does on education. India holds more than 80 nuclear warheads and most citizens, due to tensions with neighboring Pakistan, express support for the nation's nuclear arsenal. Many Indians know about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but they aren't familiar with the details of the destruction and the fact that A-bomb survivors are still suffering today from the effects of the bombings.

Children from Bornfree Art School have been performing a play, called "White Flower," about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at a number of places across India. By presenting this play, we are appealing for India to reduce its military expenditure and, instead, increase the amount of money spent on education so that children can be free from a life of labor.

Inspired by my close view of John's work, I have recently come to feel that I want to do work that can directly impact children's lives. In particular, I have enjoyed dance since I was young, and through dance, I would like to help children open up their minds and their bodies, and gain confidence in themselves. My dream and aim for the future is to work professionally as a dance therapist.