Travis Japan’s Kaito Miyachika Embodies “JUST DANCE TOGETHER” at Michael / Michael Tokyo Event

by Sabina, posted in News, Spotlight

On May 9 in Tokyo’s Kabukicho Cine City Square, Travis Japan’s Kaito “Chaka” Miyachika stepped directly into the feeling of movement during the live talk and dance event celebrating the release of Michael / Michael, the new biographical film honoring the life and legacy of Michael Jackson.

A male performer in a black sequined outfit walks on stage with his microphone, while two other men applaud. The backdrop features musical notes and a vibrant design.
@michaelmoviejp

The event, titled “Let’s Dance Together! Michael Dance! Live & Talk Event,” was held in celebration of the film’s worldwide success and designed as an invitation to experience the music and movement that continue to captivate audiences across generations. But long before the official program began, the square had already transformed into something alive. Under the neon glow of Shinjuku, more than 400 Michael Jackson fans gathered with visible excitement, many dressed in stage-inspired outfits that shimmered like fragments of a shared memory. Silver gloves, sharp jackets, and unmistakable silhouettes appeared throughout the crowd, turning the plaza into a living tribute.

Together with renowned dancer Kent Mori and legendary choreographers Rich + Tone, Chaka helped transform the square into something larger than a promotional event. It became a celebration of inheritance: of dance, of artistry, and of the emotional language performers leave behind.

Released across North America and 82 territories worldwide on April 24, Michael / Michael has already broken opening-weekend records for music biopics, surpassing even Bohemian Rhapsody. The film stars Jaafar Jackson, the real-life nephew of Michael Jackson, and traces the rise of the King of Pop from his childhood in the Jackson 5 to global superstardom—while also exploring the loneliness and creative burden that accompanied genius.

That atmosphere made Chaka’s entrance feel less like an arrival and more like joining something already in motion. As the leader of Travis Japan—a group originally formed from members selected by Travis Payne, Michael Jackson’s longtime choreographer—Chaka carries a unique connection to Michael’s creative lineage. And that influence is woven directly into his artistic foundation.

Alongside him were Kent Mori, who had been contracted as a principal dancer for Michael’s THIS IS IT, and Rich + Tone, who danced on Michael’s HIStory Tour and worked on the choreography for Michael / Michael, including guiding Jaafar Jackson’s dance performance in the film.

Seeing the crowd’s excitement, Chaka immediately responded to its heat. “This is exactly the kind of energy we were hoping for,” he told the audience, encouraging them to raise their voices and lift the atmosphere even higher.

For Chaka, Michael Jackson is not only an icon to admire from afar. He is a force that demands movement, discipline, and growth. “When you watch him, you can’t help but want to practice,” he said, describing Michael as someone who lights a fire in him. “Whenever you try to express something, Michael gives you a kind of spice that expands the performance.”

It was the kind of answer that revealed more than admiration. It revealed reverence. For an artist like Chaka, whose career has been shaped by the language of dance, inspiration is not passive. It asks to be answered through the body, through repetition, through the long and invisible labor behind a single clean line of movement.

That idea of dance as connection has long existed at the heart of Travis Japan itself. The group’s tagline — “JUST DANCE TOGETHER” — feels less like a slogan and more like a philosophy. For Travis Japan, dance has always been a shared language, a place of belonging, a home built through movement. Watching Chaka stand in the middle of Kabukicho surrounded by fans, choreographers, and performers from across generations, the meaning behind those words became impossible to miss. Long before language, nationality, or even familiarity, people were already communicating through rhythm. In many ways, the afternoon reflected exactly what Travis Japan has consistently tried to create: spaces where people can find one another through dance.

He also reflected on what he inherited through Travis Payne’s mentorship, explaining that many of the lessons passed down through Michael’s creative lineage continue to shape how he approaches performance today. Later, speaking about Travis Japan’s own identity as a group, he admitted that whenever he thinks about what the group wants to deliver—and what fans hope to receive— he inevitably returns to the example Michael set.

“There’s no choice but to use what we learned from him,” he said.

And perhaps nowhere was that more visible than in the dancing itself.

That idea of togetherness lingered over the entire evening. Kent Mori echoed the sentiment, describing a dream where the world could become “one team” through music and dance, creating both drama and peace at once. It may sound idealistic, but for a few hours in Kabukicho, surrounded by wind, music, laughter, and synchronized movement, it also felt strangely tangible.

As the event drew to a close, organizers announced that Chaka had officially been appointed as a promotional ambassador for Michael / Michael. The crowd answered with some of the loudest cheers of the night. Predictably, he responded not with ego, but humility.

“It’s such a wonderful work that it almost feels like it doesn’t need someone like me,” he admitted. “But I want to do my best so that people who still don’t know Michael can discover a work that makes them love him.”

It was a fitting ending for an evening built on legacy rather than spectacle alone. Because what Chaka offered that night was not simply fandom, nor choreography, nor promotion. It was continuation — proof that influence survives not only through archives and records, but through bodies willing to carry its heartbeat forward in their own bodies.

Under the lights of Kabukicho, the moonwalk was never just nostalgia. It was memory becoming motion again.

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For fans overseas, you can order your copies of the ‘‘s travelers‘ album at CD Japan!

Bundle (DVD / Blu-ray). Limited Edition T (DVD / Blu-ray), Limited Edition J (DVD / Blu-ray), and Regular edition.

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