Today we started at YTJ Youth Theater Japan. I taught a two hour dance class and it was awesome. I started with a little bit of a warm-up and then some improvisation, some across the floor, and then they learned a combination. They were totally excited and again, quick to learn. Ending the day with them we promised to do a performance each day, so I did a solo.
Afterwards we all met with the director of the performance and he said he loved the workshop. He also told me about the 5 min piece he wants me to choreograph. He said he wants something exciting because we are ending the first half of the show. So I was directed to bring a piece of choreography for the next day.
We all went to have dinner at an Italian restaurant with some of the RS Musical students who wanted to spend more time with us. Hayama and his daughter were there, as well as Mimi, Shiho and Yuki. These were the dancers that also took part in my dance workshop the day before.
Then...
I went to spend the night with Yuki, the dancer we have been spending time with. When I arrived her mom showered me with questions and gifts as so many people have done since we have been here. It was an awesome experience.
August 24th
Today we went to the Suma Aquarium, it was awesome. We saw many cool fish, saw a dolphin show and some sea otters!
At YTJ Tsukasa started with one hour of Drama. They worked on imagining people in front of them, seeing them and really speaking to them. It was awesome to watch. Then I returned with an hour of dance. Here I started teaching my dance for the performance on the 29th. There were 35 students so I divided them up and began choreographing. We got 1/3 of the dance done, and then Tsukasa performed for them. They loved it, he was incredibly inspiring.
When we returned home there was enough food at home to feed an army…awesome. Brandon and I don’t want to leave Tsukasas mother, she is such a wonderful cook.
August 25th
Today we woke up and had lunch with Saki, Saki’s sister and a new baby! These are all friends of Tsukasas from school. We ate at Okonomiyaki which is fried food, delicious!
Then we went to YTJ and I started with one hour was extremely happy with their progress. It was a little frustrating because there were a few people missing, but they are quick learners so I wasn’t so worried. Then Brandon gave one hour of music to the students where they listened to music and drew what they heard. Then he asked them to lie on their backs and he did a breathing exercise while I taped all of their drawings to the mirror. When the students sat back up they had a discussion about the similarities and differences of their drawings. What a cool way to explore music. Lastly, Brandon performed “Billie” and they all seemed to really enjoy it.
We had dinner with Mr. Otaka, the coordinator as well as Mr. Nishijima the president and founder of Youth Theater Japan. He was very thankful to have us with his group and had to leave due to business, but hopefully we will have time to post an interview with him.
Returning home we went to BED.
August 26th
Today we woke up around 8 am, and got ready to go teach at a local community center. I taught dance from 10-1 giving Yuki information about different techniques and choreographers/dancers she could look up online. Then we had a lunch break, and performed for Natsumi, Yuki, and Mrs. Hayama.
We had to leave afterwards so we dropped Yuki off at her home, after a few sad goodbyes’ we left for YTJ. When we arrived we kicked off the day with a game of Ninja Destruction, which they loved, and then I finished my dance! They looked awesome and I am excited to see how they do tomorrow at the dress rehearsal! Tsukasa did another exercise with them, syllable tag, and then we did their dance one more time for Mr. Otaka. He loved it, and is excited to see it at the dress rehearsal as well. Then we had a brief Q&A ending with a talk about the three of us and our individual artistic experience.
We grabbed some wine on the way home and celebrated with wine and tempura…oishii (delicious!)
• After talking to some of the students here at YTJ I am excited to have given them this opportunity to perform. Although I am not always a fan of product oriented workshops I do see the importance of performing; especially for this group of students which wouldn’t have had a chance to perform at all for the next few months if they weren’t in this dance piece. So I am happy to have given them this chance.
• Originally I was supposed to use 6 or less dancers because the director didn’t think that there were enough “good” dancers. Once we had a conversation we decided that the “good” ones would stand in the front and the “bad” ones in the back…but being the stubborn girl I am, I decided to try and use all 35 students equally. There is a video on the front page of the blog….tell me what you think. Keep in mind that they learned this dance in less than 3 hours, and some of them have only been dancing for one year! I think they look pretty awesome, and the director didn’t say anything to me about using everyone SO I am very happy!
