Ninjas move with precise speed, grace and agility, demonstrating their flawless technique and the narrow line at which dance and martial arts intersect.

A person who uses Ninjitsu is by definition a ninja. Ninjutsu is an independent art of warfare that primarily developed in the Iga and Koka regions of Japan. Ninja’s, also known as shinobi’s were covert agents in feudal Japan. Their functions ranged from espionage, infiltration, assassination, sabotage and guerrilla warfare.

With such roles, requiring extreme dexterity, physical prowess and elite skills particularly in the areas of combat and defense, it is a wonder why it is not traditionally considered a martial art.

Pop culture has contributed to the transformation of the ninja world to the degree that it took the sport of ninja from a violent job of sorts to essentially a sport and ultimately an art. In Hollywood films ninja’s are typically portrayed with an alluring mystique, whose skills are not easily duplicated or matched. Many ninja characters are shown to move with such ease and fluidity that they often appear to be dancing with their weaponry.  So it is no surprise that many modern dance groups study and emulate ninja movements and vice versa.

Let’s have a look at some modern ninja dancers in action.