A post shared by Mark Kanemura (@mkik808)Meet the man behind the dance moves.Chances are, you’ve seen Mark Kanemura shake his groove thing—whether as finalist on season four of So You Think You Can Dance, in countless viral social media posts, or alongside world famous pop stars like Janet Jackson, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Carly Rae Jepsen (both on tour and in their music videos).But earlier this year, Kanemura took a break from the choreo to create his first-ever picture book, I Am A Rainbow!, a youth-focused story of self-love and shining brightly.
It was inspired by his own childhood in Honolulu, Hawaii, and features illustrations from Richard Merritt that are just as colorful and eye-catching as Kanemura’s popular dance videos.In celebration of I Am A Rainbow!‘s release earlier this summer, we invited the dancer-turned-author to be the latest guest in our rapid-fire Q&A series, Dishin’ It.
In our conversation, Kanemura touches on the musical that “blew [his] mind and heart wide open,” what makes him most proud to be Hawaiian, and the super famous pop star who surpassed all his expectations.
A post shared by Mark Kanemura (@mkik808)Is there a piece of media—whether a movie, TV series, book, album, games, etc…—that you consider a big part of your own coming-out journey, or that has played an important part in exploring your own queerness?