Back Onstage in Nippon!

Come on, come all to see the amazing foreigner performing live onstage in Takko-Machi!

I swear to you, that's what the headline of the posters said! Hehehe...

This past weekend was the happyokai in which I performed with my Nihon Buyo group along with a number of other groups and individuals of various performance backgrounds. Although I was unclear as to what the purpose of the gathering was, I suppose it was an opportunity for local people to celebrate and keep alive their culture and traditions, some of which have been around this area for thousands of years (ex: Nanyadoyara). For me, it was an occasion for me to further immerse myself into everything this great country has to offer. And let's be honest...when have I ever said "no" to performing?

Although this was my first time performing Nihon Buyo (more elaboration later, I promise), it was not my first time performing in Japan. Waaay back when in October of 2009, I performed for the patrons of the G&B Festival my rendition of "Taylor the Latte Boy"...good times, ne? However, I wasn't roped into all of this purely based on my singing talents (shocking). I had also danced the Nanyadoyara on several occasions for this event and that, and a few of the ladies from this group saw me, realized I had an interest in taking dance classes, and signed me up! Six months later and I found myself painted in white make up with a kimono on and about a billion layers. I'm sure I blended right in.

Allow me to back track...as is with all dance, there are several versions of Japanese-style dancing. The group that I've practiced with dances the Nihon Buyo (に移動). This style of dance is made for entertainment on the stage as opposed to other dances that may be performed for religious rituals or specific events. It has evolved over the years as it incorporated elements from other styles and became influenced by the western world's growing presence in the country. To the western eye, however, Nihon Buyo looks as traditional as traditional can be (at least it does to me!). Of course, the components of this style that I found most interesting were almost the ones I had the most trouble with; the first characteristic I noticed/struggled with was how slooooow it was. Granted, the piece I danced to ("Sakura Sakura") is probably one of the most famous pieces of Japanese traditional music out there and is, from what I understand, a dance done by those just starting out. But overall, everyone's performance was very slow, a huge change from the fast-paced-jump-around-cheer stuff I'm used to. My next obstacle was the turning IN of the feet. Since I started dancing when I was 10 years old, they trained us to turn our feet OUT. Urgh. This I had issues with for a bit as it felt awkward to walk through the dance pigeon-toed (where is Julia when you need her?), but this is thought of as very beautiful for Japanese standards...so pigeon-toed it is! And lastly, with this style of dance, every since movement is deliberate and exact. This may seem obvious, but I was getting corrected on my arm placement with a difference of about 5 degrees...such things are usually not as easily spotted in the dance that I'm used to since it is far more fast-paced and difficult to catch mistakes like that. Along with this deliberateness, I was to be in a plié (bent knees) stance for the entirety of the dance (about 4 minutes). This was actually a fun challenge for me...it brought back some great memories from ballet and was fantastic strength conditioning for my legs. It certainly took its toll on my knees, however.


So now that you have a better idea of what Nihon Buyo entails, I guess a video would be in order, right? Unfortunately, I don't have that available. My sincere apologies. I have a short clip linked below, but not a full version. Mom, don't worry...I'll be purchasing a video of the entire happyokai so you can see it in its entirety.

The happyokai was scheduled to begin at 12pm, but I began my "getting ready" process at 8am, with a trip to the beauty salon. I had my hair done once before by this salon, but that was back in my "Queen" days...I also didn't have a choice in style. But this time, they plopped some style magazines in front of me and gestured for me to choose. I have to choose?! I didn't know what was the appropriate hair style for a geisha! I decided to go with the most conservative style I saw (the magazine given to me was geared towards 20-year-olds preparing for the traditional ceremony celebrated at that age...that's an entirely different story). Now, I'm pretty picky when it comes to my hair. I like it to be perfect and very secured, especially if I'll be dancing in it. That's what I really liked about this salon; she pulled and tugged at my hair to ensure it was neatly in place. In the end, my hair ended up being a mess of curls pinned into a messy bun. And, as with most hairstyles for these occasions, several random hair pieces were thrown on to finish it off. Even more were added once I arrived to the plaza to meet my group. Check out the accompanying picture for a visual.

Miyu getting painted

Ayani getting make up

My hair took about an hour, which gave me some time to eat toast before heading over to the plaza to get dressed (a light breakfast was necessary as I'd be tightly wrapped into my kimono and didn't need any of my breakfast to come back up). My dance was the first to perform out of our group, so I, along with the two younger girls that danced with me, were the first priority. We began with make up: a white base which was layered on thick, with red shadow, thick black eyeliner, drawn-on eyebrows, and bright fire-engine red lipstick. It was nothing like I had ever seen before for stage make up. The only familiar thing was the red lipstick. I hated wearing red lipstick. Next was the white paint, for lack of a better word, that was applied to our arms, chest, neck and nape. I looked like an obake (ghost)! An hour of make up later, and I was ready for my kimono. I've posted pictures of me in a yukata, a summer version of the kimono. A yukata is made of a lighter material and the sleeves, I believe, aren't as long. Well, since it's winter, the kimono I was wearing was not only made of silk, but I ended up having on four layers...and I didn't go outside. It was cho atsui! Along the four layers, I had about four to five layers of one version or another of the obi (the sash that is wrapped around the waist while wearing the kimono). I feel as if the point of the kimono is to look thin, but I always felt larger after they wrapped so much crap around me...

Ayani, Me and Miyu
I'm their mother...resemblance is uncanny

Finally, the time had come for the performance. Everyone around me was concerned: "Agatte desuka?" (Are you nervous?). "Nai, desho!" (Of course not!). And I wasn't. The dance was all of 4 minutes long and I had been practicing it for several months now. I credit this to my choreographers from way back when with the last minute changes to everything, but I pick up on choreography quickly. It's something all the obasans took note of during my first practice, except they mistook my ability to remember choreography for being skilled at Japanese dance. Oh well...let them think what they'll think! Anyway, the two little girls I was dancing with, Miyu and Ayani, were bouncing off the walls. Miyu, usually a ball of energy, was dancing for the first time and was obviously very thrilled about it. As the lights dimmed for our entrance, we covered our faces with the fans, and shuffled our way to the middle of the stage, turned towards the audience (faces still covered) and slooooooowly knelt down (killed my knees). At the second "Sakura...", I lowered my fan to reveal my *gasp* gaijin face. Literally, and I'm not kidding you, the entire audience gasped and started whispering. For a split second, I was worried about there being something on my face or kimono, but I remembered the novelty of being a foreigner participating in such events and how SHOCKING it must be to everyone. The rest of the dance went off without a hitch. Unfortunately, I don't have any video of my own right now, but my friend recorded the last bit of it. Click here.


As the dance ended and we tried to shuffle away backstage, my path was blocked by the announcer. How did I not see this one coming? He gestured for me to join him in the middle of the stage, made a comment about how たかい (takai=tall) I was, and disappeared backstage...leaving me there. I stared at everyone in the audience. It's standard Japanese entertainment procedure to leave someone helpless and confused; at least, that's my understanding of it based on observation. The announcer finally returned with a box to stand on, which made him about an inch taller than me. Ha ha ha. He made more comments about how well I had done ("Joozu desune?!"), which prompted another round of applause from the audience and a deep bow from me. He then turned to me and shot off with some rapid fire Japanese. I smiled as sweetly as I could and replied, "Gomenasai! Nihongo wakarimasen." Patrick had taught me some long exhausting phrase about not knowing how to speak Japanese which usually got laughs from everyone because here he was, spouting off with all kinds of Japanese, but I didn't remember it. A simple, "I'm sorry, I don't understand Japanese" would have to do. It still got laughs, but I think that's because I'm blonde and therefore, always entertaining. It turns out he was asking me what my job was ("Kokusai koryuun desu"), and how long I've lived in Takko (to which I didn't know how to answer...I had said "nana gatsu", or seven months, which also means July, so that answer might have been confusing). Anyway, with another quick bow and wave, I was released backstage. Whew.

It's over!!!

I'm actually very disappointed that it's all over. I had been looking forward to performing again; my family will tell you that it's my calling. I'm sure there will be more chances in the future and until then, there's always karaoke!