Whirling, spinning, reaching, grasping - Japanese wheelchair dancer Kenta Kambara's emotive performances are wordless testimony to artistic passion and possibility.
Born with spina bifida, a disorder that paralysed his lower body, Kambara aims to perform at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics opening or closing ceremonies, seeking to send a message to disabled and able-bodied people alike: it's okay to be different.
Left: Kambara participates in an event for sports day at his elementary school in Kobe, Japan, 1997. Right: Kambara poses with his friends during an elementary school trip at a station in Mie, Japan, 1996.
Kambara was in third grade at elementary school in Kobe, western Japan, when his mother told him he would never walk.
"It was a huge shock and I remember crying," he said. "But that was the trigger to think about how to confront my disability and find different ways to achieve my goals."
Video
Story
"Even if the Games are cancelled, I will have another chance to stand on a world stage," he said.
PHOTO EDITING MARIKA KOCHIASHVILI; TEXT EDITING LINCOLN FEAST; LAYOUT JULIA DALRYMPLE