La danse du détour : A collaborative arts performance with people touched by Minamata disease.

This article focuses on a 2019 participatory dance project conducted by Philippe Chéhère, Julie Salgues, and the Minamata Dance Collective in Minamata, Japan, a community historically affected by industrial mercury pollution and Minamata disease. The project engaged over 180 participants—including patients, citizens, students, and dancers—in dance workshops and performances at significant local sites to explore movement as a form of encounter, dialogue, and reflection on the environmental and social legacy of Minamata disease. The study situates the dance initiative within the broader context of Minamata’s history of industrial pollution, patient rights struggles, discrimination, and arts activism, highlighting how participatory arts can foster connection, raise awareness, and contribute to healing social rifts. The authors emphasize that the project’s meaning is participant-defined and that arts-based approaches offer a complementary dimension to legal and political discourse surrounding environmental justice and community restoration in Minamata.