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Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Kanno.
Hi Laura, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I have been in search of my authentic style of performance for many years.
There is a quote that I have always remembered from when I was working in the Kabuki industry. When I once asked Kabuki actor Nakamura Tomijyuro V (the fifth), “What do I need to do to find a way of expression that is true to who I am?” he answered, “Just keep going. We cannot always expect to be able to do only what we want to do. But if we keep at it, a path might open up someday. If we stop, that’s the end of it.”
My parents, both of whom are music teachers, started me on piano and singing when I was three years old.
I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in voice from Kunitachi College of Music in Tokyo, intending to become a musical theater actress. I studied opera and classical songs in Italian, German and Japanese.
In my sophomore year, I began working part-time at the National Children’s Castle in Tokyo. I was given the role of lead vocal and MC for family concerts. I thought I was capable, but in reality, it didn’t go well at all. Kids are so honest – if they think you’re boring, they stop listening. But being surrounded by many people to learn from, and with the kind support of all the backup musicians, I gradually learned how to connect with the children. By the end of my time working there, I felt as though I could take on anything and enjoy the music with whoever came to the concerts. What a great learning experience that was!
Meanwhile, I continued pursuing my musical activities. In addition to singing in the chorus for the NHK Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, I also took part when “Hagi,” a mixed choir based in Sendai City, performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall in a charity concert following the Great East Japan Earthquake.
As I took on more and more, my desire to pursue musical theater only grew stronger, but also I struggled with my own musical expression that somehow felt unnatural. One day though, during a trip to the US, I had the opportunity to attend a Broadway musical. It was incredibly moving to me. It helped me realize that I was only imitating people around me and their styles of expression, and therefore lacked my own expression authentic to myself. The acting I saw on the American stage felt real. I think we live in a time where we are free to express ourselves however we please. It’s not about your age, gender, or even nationality. That being said, Europe is still the true home of classical music, while America is the home of musical theater. And in order to find out how to appropriately express myself, I felt that I must familiarize myself more with my own Japanese culture. Through working in the Kabuki industry for nine years, I was able to observe first-hand many cultures and their positive aspects, including Japan who continues to grow and change all the time.
In 2017, I quit my Kabuki job and started studying voice and English in the US and Canada, with a particular focus on understanding English lyrics. Song is all about words, so the performance is meaningless if the words are not successfully communicated to the audience. Therefore, I have put extra effort into getting help with pronunciation, and am still working on this.
During my working holiday in Toronto, I acted in a few Netflix shows, but felt somewhat frustrated. To land a part, I realized I was expected to portray a stereotype. The producers wanted an ‘Asian’ look, and therefore I had to adjust my appearance, e.g., I had to dye my hair back to black. I felt that this narrowed my range of expression and I decided that this is not for me.
One day I met Cabaret singer Marilyn Maye. She changed my life. When I saw her performance, my heart skipped a beat. Marilyn was 90 years old at the time, but her voice and showmanship was age-defying. After returning home, I went straight to my computer to look up information on Marilyn. Upon learning that Marilyn would be teaching a master class in the near future, I signed up to participate. The class was open to the public, and around ten students took turns going up on stage and performing their songs.
Having never participated in this kind of a masterclass before, I felt uncomfortable using the mike. Because I had been focused on classical voice and musical theater in all of my studies up until then, I barely had any practice singing through a mike. But the mike is crucial for Marilyn’s cabaret style. When I voiced my discomfort, Marilyn told me to “think of the mike as your best friend when you sing.” That really helped me loosen up and just go for it. For some reason, it felt so easy singing in front of Marilyn, and I felt a warmth to my own voice that had never been there before. It was almost as though Marilyn had removed every barrier that was preventing me from being my natural self.
To my surprise, some of the other participants were in tears when I finished singing, and Marilyn invited me to come for a private lesson with her. I was starting to feel like I was finally getting somewhere. I thought to myself: ‘THIS is the kind of expression I’ve been wanting to do.’” As I started taking lessons and continued my studies with Marilyn, that feeling gradually led to a new level of confidence.
It was soon after that I decided to become a cabaret singer. I had my debut concert in Tokyo in 2021, and since then, I have been studying consistently with Marilyn Maye and trying to absorb as much as I can form her. I have realized that cabaret is not just about singing; It’s more about telling a story while being true to myself. So, I decided to audition at the HB Studio and have recently been accepted into their acting program. I look forward to studying here and building a strong foundation in acting and singing.
For now, there is no cabaret style in Japan, not yet. That is why, in the future, I want to be a pioneer and bring the cabaret style to Japan. As you may already know, only men are allowed to play a Kabuki role. However, Kabuki was actually started by a bold woman 400 years ago. I want to be like her and spread Cabaret music throughout Japan.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Good question. Everyday is a challenge for me, so it is difficult to specify. English is my second language so that is certainly a challenge.
Also, the lyrics are very important to me as a singer; I want to make sure the audience understands the beautiful lyrics. The English language is completely different from Japanese in how one uses the mouth, tongue, face bones and nose.
At first, I worked especially hard on pronunciation with my teachers. I still practice pronunciation, but now I also spend a lot of time focusing on connecting to the lyrics, the process of which I found much more difficult than the task of pronouncing the words correctly. I will never forget the first time I was able to truly connect to the English lyrics from my heart.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a cabaret singer. I perform songs from Broadway musicals, pop songs, Jazz, Japanese songs in my own style. Cabaret is a type of performance where the performer sings different genres of music in their original style. For example, in musical theater, the actors completely become that particular role, but as a cabaret singer, I am free to sing as myself. Until I discovered cabaret, there were times when I wanted to sing a particular song but couldn’t because I didn’t fit that role. With cabaret, however, that is not an issue.
I have learned many different kinds of vocal styles – I do classical songs, pop, songs from musicals, children’s songs and Japanese songs. I have also recently started singing jazz songs. I truly enjoy being able to apply everything I’ve learned over the years to the different styles of music I get to perform now as a cabaret singer.
I feel very fortunate to have met all the wonderful people in my life. My family, teachers, friends, coworkers, staff.. I have been inspired by all of them.
As everyone already knows, I love the color pink. Pink is not just a color to me, Pink has in fact led me to many exciting connections. At the Pink Party (event) I held a couple years ago where I sang and shared my story, I got to invite a wide variety of artists (singers, musicians, designers, painters, and fashionistas) to come and share their passion. So far, I have held my Pink Party in both Japan and the US, and would love to ultimately expand it to more countries.
As humans, I think we are all different and unique in our own way. It’s hard to pinpoint how exactly I’m different, but I definitely feel some cultural differences.
When I’m in America, I feel very Japanese, which is something I never used to feel growing up and living in Japan. That being said, whenever I come back to Japan now, I often feel as though people think I’m strange, perhaps because I have become somewhat Americanized in my thinking.
I have a lot of respect for both cultures, and I feel very privileged to be able to learn from so many interesting people around the world.
How do you define success?
For me, success means continuing to pursue my passion as a singer while sharing and celebrating the joys and richness that life has to offer with the people who come to hear me sing.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@laura-pink.com
- Website: laura-pink.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pinklaurapink/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/pinklaurapink
Image Credits
Yui Matsukawa
Squopea