Meet Kazushi Matsugaya

 

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kazushi Matsugaya. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with KAZUSHI below.

Hi KAZUSHI, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

When I first began filmmaking, it felt more like a ‘means’ than a ‘purpose.’ My decision to come to New York stemmed from my admiration for authentic street dance. As a dancer myself, I longed to experience the essence of styles like House, Hip-Hop, and Krump—born in LA—at their places of origin. That desire remains unchanged, and while in America, I’ve actively participated in battle events, performed in shows, and engaged in various opportunities.

Every day, I immersed myself in lessons and workshops, drawing deep inspiration from incredible dancers. Engaging with club culture, the connections I forged through dance enriched my life immensely.

Yet, at the same time, I saw many skilled dancers vanish into the background due to a lack of recognition, drift away from dance because balancing it with life became too challenging, or struggle to continue due to injuries. I’ve faced similar moments myself. Whether they stood out or not, there are countless captivating people in this world.

At some point, a question started to linger in my mind:

“If something a person pours their passion into isn’t acknowledged by the world, does it lose its meaning?”

This thought prompted me to take up filmmaking as a ‘means’ to ‘document.’ For example, even if someone falls short in the preliminaries of a dance battle, preserving ‘proof of their challenge’ might not help them immediately, but I believe it could eventually become a source of salvation for them.

I started by creating videos of ourselves. When dancer friends and singers saw them, they began asking me to make videos for them too, and over time, my work grew. What began as a means to record our efforts and those of my peers has now evolved into a clear ‘purpose’—producing promotional videos for events, supporting artists across various genres, and creating cinematic works.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m currently working as an individual, or sometimes as part of a team, creating promotional videos for events and not just dancers, but also artists like painters and singers. I also craft narrative-driven video works centered on dancers, which I submit to film festivals.

In my work, I prioritize going beyond just surface-level coolness. I focus on figuring out what the subject wants to express, deeply understanding the environment and people I’m filming. I aim to blend an objective, shareable image with a subjective perspective, weaving a story that captures the atmosphere. This applies to artists, but also to things like promotional videos for restaurants or salons, where I try to highlight what makes them special.

Today’s world is flooded with video content—for better or worse. Now that anyone can easily make videos, standing out requires constant experimentation and effort. But thanks to my stubborn personality
, once I get fixated on something, I often end up spending way too much time on it… LOL.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I’m not sure if these exactly count as qualities or skills, and they might sound like they apply to anything, but I’d say:

1. Becoming a total nerd about something.
2. Trying out lots of new experiences.
3. Building a friends of the field.

With these three, I think technical skills and knowledge naturally follow, and more importantly, you end up enjoying yourself. I’m not really in a position to give advice, but if I had to, I’d say: when you get curious about something, jump in right away—if it’s fun, keep going; If it doesn’t spark joy, switch gears without looking back.
It’s pretty simple.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

I wouldn’t say I’ve achieved success yet by any means. However, something that always crosses my mind as I pursue my activities is a piece of advice from a dance teacher from Okinawa in Japan. When I was struggling—whether it was choreographing for a show or hitting a wall—He told me, ‘Even if it’s not perfect, think it through yourself and create as much as you can.’

That teacher has always embodied that principle, serving as a living example for me. Since hearing those words, I might seek ideas from others at times, but to this day, it remains a core rule within me. Even now, as I create films, that value continues to support who I am.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Shizuka Sugihara
Kazushi Matsugaya

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