Suzuyuki-Kai, Traditional Japanese Dance Group
UPCOMING SHOW - OCTOBER 19, 2025 | 1:30 PM
"Yume" Making Dreams a Reality- Herberger Theatre | Stage West
Mari Kaneta（兼田真理）studied and trained with the prominent Azuma School of Japanese Classical Dance in both Los Angeles, California, and Tokyo, Japan, and received her dancing degree and dancing name SUZUYUKI（寿々由紀）in 1973. While in Los Angeles, she actively participated in events such as Disneyland’s Japan Week for 10 years, Nisei Week Parade in Little Tokyo for 20 years, and many other cultural events. Due to her mentor’s sudden death in March 1975, Mari began to lead the Los Angeles branch of the Azuma School (Kotobuki-Kai) to continue what her mentor had established.
After relocating to Tucson in 1984, Mari established Suzuyuki-Kai. Starting with a small handful of students, Mari’s goal was to bring greater awareness, appreciation, and understanding of Japanese classical dance and Asian culture to Arizona. This has been accomplished through a combination of participation in various annual community and cultural events in the Tucson and Phoenix area, such as Tucson Meet Yourself, Con-Nichi Wa, Arizona Matsuri, Saboten Con, and the Arizona Asian Festival. Mari also participates in other special events such as Nordstrom’s Fashion Show in Scottsdale, joint events at the RoHoEn Japanese Friendship Garden in Phoenix, and Culture Day at Glendale Community College. She also holds workshops and lectures on odori and kimono history at various schools in Arizona. After many years of engaging with the community, the Phoenix branch of Suzuyuki-Kai was opened in 2007.
Mari has performed internationally at the World Karate Championship Exhibition in Caracas, Venezuela, and at a grand opening of a U.S.-based company in Nogales, Mexico. In March of 1996, she participated as a choreographer and a dancer for the Arizona Opera Company’s staging of “Madama Butterfly.” Several dance concerts and recitals have been held over her career as Executive Director of Suzuyuki-Kai, all with the goal to share and expose another culture in Arizona’s diversified community, and to lead to a better appreciation and understanding of Asian cultures and their traditions that can be passed on to future generations regardless of race or creed. She was awarded the “Master-Apprentice Award” in September 2015 from the Southwest Folklife Alliance and was named the Pan Asian Woman of the Year in 2018 by the Pan Asian Community Alliance, which included a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition by the U.S. House of Representatives. In celebration of 50 years of teaching, a commemorative recital will be held at the Herberger Theater Center in Phoenix on October 19, 2025.
