Dale Hikawa was the first Asian American woman to ever join the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Taking stock of her long career, this trailblazing violist reflects on her life and work.

Hikawa played with the orchestra from 1980-2023 and served as the acting principal of the viola section, paving new roads as a Japanese American woman. Music provided Hikawa with Ikigai, a Japanese concept meaning “reason for being.” This film illustrates the obsession with workmanship and craft that drives someone to devote their life to a particular art form. It invites viewers to consider our relationship to our own compulsions and preoccupations (artistic and otherwise)—what propels us to do the work that we do? In addition to profiling this striking and ground-breaking musician, the film provokes reflection about what we find when looking back at how we spent our time and energy."DALE" both illuminates and leaves mysterious those whose lives are devoted to following a muse.