Sylvain Huet, the sake dancer

On October 4, 2012, Sylvain Huet made history by becoming a "Sake Samurai" on the recommendation and co-optation of three sake producers who considered thathis commitment and exceptional knowledge of how the beverage is made and its history, as well as his passion for defending it, deserved this distinction usually awarded to Japanese. A title that Sylvain accepted with great humility, as it echoes one of the thoughts that dictates his life: " Not to be attracted by social status, but by sensations to be lived to the full. "

From stage to dojo

As he admits himself, he's a bit annoyed with calendars and the memories that go with them. His life is made up of so many passions that dates end up overlapping, intermingling and colliding. What is certain is that it all began in 1970 in Poissy [Yvelines], where Sylvain was born, before growing up in Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the nearby village of Maule. A good student, or rather a brilliant student, at the Lycée Hoche in Versailles, but without the slightest competitive spirit. By his own admission, competition "bored" him, but he was aware that, at the time, everything he did was relatively easy. He dabbled in everything - piano, maths, theater - and was interested in sound and lighting.he was interested in sound and lighting, but stumbled upon a subject that a sports teacher decided to introduce to his pupils - dance.

Sylvain is in his early teens and his body is as stiff as justice. For the first time, he understands that he will have to fight and work to master an art that resists him. While attending the twenty or so hours a week of mathematics, physics and computer science classes at Orsay University, he gets involved and puts his now supple body through twice as many hours. A Stakhanovist of the inward turn, the balancé, the chassé, the dégagé, the gambade and the sissonne. With sound and lighting back at the forefront of his mind, he also wanted to enter the ENS Louis-Lumière. He took the competitive entrance exam and finished second, but at the last minute, just as the doors of the school were opening to him, the call of dance was stronger. He gave in to the suggestions of a choreographer who encouraged him to make a living from his passion. He would devote ten years to it, but remained highly dependent on subsidies and fees from right and left. Serenity, level zero.

An encounter slowly led him to Japan: Pierre Doussaint, dancer and choreographer, is also an aikidoka.sylvain took an interest in this martial art and, as with everything he undertook, gave his all to the point of becoming a third dan within a few years. This new passion, which he indulges while pursuing a career he describes as a "computer geek", takes him to Japan, where new adventures and discoveries begin, and his life opens up in a new direction.

"You're more Japanese than we are

In 1999 or 2000 - the damned calendar plays tricks on him - Sylvain lands in Japan for the first time. As far as his bank account was concerned, things were looking up. A consultant in IT and marketing strategy, he charges a fair price for his knowledge and can afford to travel to a country renowned for its high cost of living. On the spot, he wants to learn more about aikido, which has definitely taken over from dance, and about the budoka, the warrior in the noble sense of the term, the expert martial arts fighter, the heir to the samurai.