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Draft:Kyoka Yamamoto

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Kyoka Yamamoto (Japanese: 山本恭華,きょか ; born April 24, 1996) is a Japanese hip-hop dancer and model from Osaka, Japan. She is best known as a part of the dance duo Rushball, formed in June 2004 with her partner Maika.[1][2][3] She is the first non-breaking dancer to be included on the global roster of Red Bull Dancers, a group of street dancers sponsored by Red Bull.[1]

Kyoka
Born
Kyoka Yamamoto

(1996-04-24) April 24, 1996 (age 29)
Osaka, Japan
OccupationHip-hop dancer
Years active2002–present
Career
Current group
  • Rushball (2004–present)
  • Toughness 10
  • Red Bull Dancers
  • Osaka Ojo Gang (2025-present)
Former groups
  • Nineties
  • Dream Girls
  • Stroke
DancesHip-hop, jazz, soul

Biography

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Early life

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Born in 1996 as the youngest of three siblings,[4] Kyoka followed in her brothers' footsteps by training in karate. She brings the discipline and mindset of martial arts into her dance.

Career

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Kyoka began dancing in 2002.[5] She participated in her first dance competition at the age of eight.[4] In addition to hip-hop, she also performs jazz and soul dance styles.[6] She has been an active participant in underground hiphop dance scene for nearly two decades. Her dance career has been notably influenced by her instructors Wild Cherry and D'oam.[6]

Kyoka was the lead in Step Out, a three-episode series produced by Red Bull, in which she trained in shorinji martial arts, capoeira, and flamenco.[7][8][9] She was also featured in Season 1 of The Ins and Outs Show by Red Bull, a series that spotlights four emerging women in Japan’s music and dance scene.[10]

Kyoka was also part of the Japanese dance crew Nineties, which includes a collective of close friends and notable dancers such as Ibuki (from Bad Queen), Ruu, Kazane, Katsuya, Momoca, Alex, TwinTwiggz, PrinceTwiggz, Taisuke, and her brother Youki.

In 2022, Kyoka competed in the Chinese dance competition television program Street Dance of China Season 5, where she finished as the runner-up and became the first foreign female dancer to achieve this title in the show's history.[11][12] As of 2025, she is a member of Osaka Ojo Gang, a team featured on the Korean reality dance competition show World of Street Woman Fighter.[13][14][15]

Apart from her dance career, Kyoka also worked as a model and collaborated with major brands.[16][17][18]

Rushball

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Hailing from Osaka, Kyoka and Maika began their dance journey at a young age, meeting in a local dance studio when they were eight and six, respectively. The name Rushball was chosen by Maika's mother to represent "powerful kids who can dance like a bouncing ball".[10]

Rushball gained international recognition in March 2012 when they placed second at the prestigious Juste Debout dance competition in France.[2][3] At the time, Kyoka and Maika were just 14 and 16 years old, respectively. Four years later, the duo secured a 4-0 victory and made history by becoming the first Japanese crew to win the Juste Debout title in 2016.[5][19][20] The duo continued their success by winning the World Dance Colosseum in the hip hop category in Tokyo in 2019,[21][22] and again in 2024.[23]

In 2023, Rushball also won the 2-on-2 Open-Styles battles at the Circle Dance Lab, defeating a lineup of prominent dancers including Zyko, Poppin C, Nelson, and Da Switch.[24]

List of notable achievements

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  • Dance Challenge (winner)
  • Dance@Live Kids 2009 (side finalist)[25]
  • Dance@Live Kids 2010 (side finalist)[26]
  • World Dance Colosseum 2011 Hip Hop 2on2 Battle (winner) (Rushball)
  • Juste Debout 2012 Japan (winner) (Rushball)[27]
  • Juste Debout 2012 World (runner-up) (Rushball)[28]
  • Summer Dance Forever 2014 (runner-up)[29]
  • Japan Dance Delight 2014 (winner)
  • Yo It's Free 2015 (winner)
  • KOD Japan 2015 (winner)
  • Juste Debout 2016 (winner) (Rushball)[30]
  • Summer Dance Forever 2018 (Top 4)
  • World Dance Colosseum Hip Hop 2on2 Battle 2019 (winner) (Rushball)[21]
  • Bring Down 10th Anniversary Hip Hop 1on1 Battle 2020 (winner)
  • Dance@Live Hip Hop 2020&2021 (winner)
  • FRESH!? Hip Hop Solo Battle 2021 (winner)
  • Area UDC Battle 2023 (Top 4)
  • Circle Dance Lab 2-on-2 Open-Styles 2023 (winner) (Rushball)[24]
  • World Dance Colosseum 2024 (winner) (Rushball)[31]
  • FRESH!? Female Side and Final Battle 2024 (winner)[32]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Red Bull Dancers". Red Bull. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
  2. ^ a b WEBザテレビジョン. "BABY-Gアンバサダー RUSH BALLの最新ダンスパフォーマンスムービー！ がリリース♪". WEBザテレビジョン (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  3. ^ a b "RUSHBALL - WOMEN OF OUR TIME | G-SHOCK SINGAPORE". CASIO Official Website. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
  4. ^ a b Nancy.Chen (2023-07-05). "【GQ HYPE】她一帥起來，真的沒男生的事。專訪街舞天才少女 Kyoka：「我從小的夢想就是成為世界冠軍！」". GQ Taiwan (in Chinese). Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  5. ^ a b "Kyoka". Red Bull. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  6. ^ a b "Get to know Kyoka, the hip-hop dancer from Japan in this interview". Red Bull. 2018-04-05. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
  7. ^ Red Bull Dance (2019-04-25). Hip Hop x Shorinji | Kyoka Step Out | Ep 1 | @RedBullDance. Retrieved 2025-06-01 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ Red Bull Dance (2019-05-02). Hip Hop dancer Kyoka trains Flamenco | Behind the Scenes | Kyoka Step Out | Ep 2. Retrieved 2025-06-01 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ Red Bull Dance (2019-05-09). Hip Hop dancer Kyoka trains Capoeira | Behind the Scenes | Kyoka Step Out | Ep 3. Retrieved 2025-06-01 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ a b This is how hip-hop dancer Kyoka blew up worldwide. Retrieved 2025-06-09 – via www.redbull.com.
  11. ^ "Zyko Becomes First Foreign National to Win 'Street Dance of China' - RADII". 2022-10-31. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  12. ^ "專訪大阪嘻哈舞者山本恭華（KYOKA）：舞蹈就是一種溝通方式，就像說話一樣。". Vogue Hong Kong (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  13. ^ 차은향. "올드스쿨미 가득한 댄서, 쿄카 | 월드 오브 스우파". Marie Claire Korea (in Korean). Retrieved 2025-06-04.
  14. ^ CHOSUNBIZ (2025-03-26). "World of Street Woman Fighter unveils stellar lineup ahead of May 27 premiere". CHOSUNBIZ. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  15. ^ "Your Guide To All The Dancers On 'World Of Street Woman Fighter'". Harper's Bazaar Singapore. 2025-06-13. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
  16. ^ "Kyoka Admires The Talenta Of Indonesian Dancers In The Red Bull Dance Tour Workshop". VOI - Waktunya Merevolusi Pemberitaan. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  17. ^ "中国でいま一番注目されている日本人女性「KYOKA」。中国で日本人ダンサーが熱い理由". FRaU | 講談社 (in Japanese). 2022-10-26. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  18. ^ "Casio's new G-Shock pays tribute to exceptional women". The Star. 2025-04-21. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  19. ^ WEBザテレビジョン. "BABY-Gアンバサダー RUSH BALLの最新ダンスパフォーマンスムービー！ がリリース♪". WEBザテレビジョン (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  20. ^ "SPECIAL INTERVIEW". DANCE DELIGHT. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
  21. ^ a b WORLD DANCE COLOSSEUM (2020-01-15). 【1200万再生突破】RUSH BALL vs Les Twins WDC 2019 FINAL HIPHOP #WDC. Retrieved 2025-05-31 – via YouTube.
  22. ^ WEBザテレビジョン. "WDC 2019 FINAL 大会結果". WEBザテレビジョン (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-06-02.
  23. ^ "WDC 2024 FINAL RESULT". www.wdc.tokyo. 21 October 2024. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
  24. ^ a b THECIRCLEDANCELAB (2024-01-17). Da Switch & Nelson VS Kyoka & Maika｜2 ON 2 Open-Styes Finals｜The Circle Dance Lab 2023 Finals. Retrieved 2025-05-31 – via YouTube.
  25. ^ "DANCE ALIVE HERO'S 2019 FINAL » DANCE@LIVE FINAL 2009". dancealive.tv. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  26. ^ "DANCE ALIVE HERO'S 2019 FINAL » DANCE@LIVE FINAL 2010". dancealive.tv. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  27. ^ "Juste Debout 2012 China and Japan winners – results – All Street Dance". Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  28. ^ "Juste Debout 2012 World Finals: Results summary – Hip Hop, House, Locking, Popping, Experimental, Toprock – All Street Dance". Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  29. ^ OpenendsProductions (2014-08-29). FINALS KYOKA Vs JIMMY Hiphop Forever 2014. Retrieved 2025-06-01 – via YouTube.
  30. ^ JUSTE DEBOUT (2020-11-11). Hip-Hop Final - Juste Debout 2016 - Maika & Kyoka (Rushball) vs. Jeems & Lil Blade. Retrieved 2025-06-01 – via YouTube.
  31. ^ HANDO, YUUKI (2024-10-21). "WDC 2024 FINAL RESULT". WDC (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  32. ^ FRESH!? CHANNEL (2024-10-20). KYOKA vs Jay-K |FEMALE SIDE WINNER vs MALE SIDE WINNER|FRESH!? × REP YOUR CITY QUALIFIER JAPAN. Retrieved 2025-06-02 – via YouTube.
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