Dance in Japan

 単語：

歴史的（れきしてき）- historical, traditional

近代的（きんだいてき）- modern

お馴染み（おなじみ）- familiar

明白（めいはく）- apparent, obvious

合同的（ごうどうてき）- fusion

年齢差別（ねんれいさべつ）- ageism, age discrimination

休憩（きゅうけい）- break

水分補給（すいぶんほきゅう）- hydration

演技（えんぎ）- performance

演劇（えんげき）- theatre arts

詳しい（くわしい）- detailed

意識的（いしきてき）- deliberate, intentional

性別（せいべつ）- gender

理解する（りかいする）- understand, appreciate

心がけ（こころがけ）- attention, intention


I decided to do my personal research project on dance culture in Japan. I wanted to experience both the modern dance culture and more traditional dance forms. I chose to take various dance classes at FLY dance studio and Dance Alive while I was here to get a taste of the modern dance culture and I chose to attend various traditional dance performances to witness Japanese cultural dance.

While attending modern style classes I was pleased to see that many of the exercises and class procedures were very similar to classes at home making them very familiar. The teachers did speak all in Japanese so it was fun to hear frequent class lingo translated into Japanese. I did encounter some consistent differences. I saw there is a lot of street dance influence and there are specific style classes offered here that I don't really see back in the US. I also noticed that the classes have a broader age range and the teachers give more frequent drink breaks for hydration.

In order to experience more traditional style dance forms I attended a Kabuki performance and an additional Maiko performance beyond the one we saw as a class. Both were similar in practice and history but they are separated by gender. Both are very technical dance styles with many minute details to each movement.

I thought it was interesting to see both the men and the women performed theater arts because most other places in the world no longer have gender separated theater. I wonder if this is because Kabuki and Maiko styles are so similar that they feel no need to open them up to both genders and rather preserve their cultural roots. Whatever the reason I enjoyed seeing the performances and definitely gained further appreciation for these traditional styles.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

日本の映画 🍿

Image
🎬 単語（たんご） 日本語 英語 テーマ Theme 映画（えいが） Movie 映画館（えいがかん） Movie theater 重要（じゅうよう） Important, major 匂い（におい） Smell しょっぱい Salty 嗅ぐ（かぐ） To smell, to sniff 観客（かんきゃく） Audience 気まずい Awkward, unpleasant 習慣（しゅうかん） Custom, habit 示す（しめす） To show, to express 主人公（しゅじんこう） Protagonist 役者（やくしゃ） Actor 独立系（どくりつけい） Independent 正直（しょうじき） Honestly お祝い（おいわい） Celebration 公開初日（こうかいしょにち） Opening night 公開（こうかい） Release 声優（せいゆう） Voice actor 耳をすませば（みみをすませば） Whisper of the Heart 君の名は（きみのなは） Your Name I have always loved movies, especially because my dad works in the film industry. So f or my project, I researched Japanese movies and movie theaters! Since coming to Japan, I have watched ten films. One was on the plane, three were in theaters, and six were at the house. And of course I watched all of them in Japanese. The films in theaters had no subtitles which was definitely a challenge, but they were all still enjoyable. For Bridget's birthday, some of us saw a movie on opening night, and that was probably one...
Read more

Embassy and Dazai

Image
My original plan for this assignment was to visit the embassy since there is a small chance I’ll work there in the future. I went and saw it, but there were policemen everywhere and going inside didn’t seem possible. I was actually a little intimidated by it. Instead, I went with Bridget to several Osamu Dazai landmarks on his birthday! I asked a worker to recommend me one of his books and met a girl from China who spoke English and reads his books. It was interesting to see both young and old people who enjoy his books. I think Dazai would be happy to know how many people are touched by his works. Apple juice from the salon! Dazai’s home and children. A sign close to where Dazai died. Dazai’s grave and Bridget’s calligraphy! ):
Read more

Visualizing the devastation

Image
 I think that the way that the peace park and museum show the dedication the Japanese people have to remembering those that died or suffered from the bomb while also standing as a firm advocate against nuclear weaponry. Something like the aftermath of war or a bomb as devastating as an atomic bomb is hard to fully understand and conceptualize for a generation that has grown up largely untouched by war. We've learned about these events in our history classes all growing up and learning about it on paper is so much different than seeing the aftermath through the artifacts and exhibitions in the museum. Having things like clothes, a bento box, and other everyday items makes the event more personal. It is no longer just a bunch of numbers on a page, instead it is real stories, pictures, and pieces of past lives. One of the parts of the museum that was impactful to me was at the very beginning when they had the two giant walls with the before and after pictures. To go from seeing an eve...
Read more