We woke up and walked to rehearsal at the bar and we met so many wonderful new artists. We met Omar, a percussionist from Senegal, a live painter, an accordionist, another percussionist, a few dancers from Kyoto and Tokyo, and of course there was Brandon and Tsukasa the wonderful actor and saxophonist.
(the live painting)The performance started at 7:30, about 60 people showed up, and it didn’t end until midnight. Brandon and I walked home and went straight to bed while Tsukasa stuck around to hang out with his friends. All in all it was an awesome performance and we may definitely try again in the future.
August 19th
Sadly leaving the river we packed our bags for Kobe. We left around 5am and didn’t arrive until 9:30 am. Tsukasa’s wonderful mother picked us up from the train station and headed for his house. Brandon and I slept for a few more hours while Tsukasa went to the DMV to get his drivers license renewed.
Brandon and I decided to go exploring while we waited and ended up in Tarumi train station, bought a book that translated from English to Japanese, and sat in a café learning new phrases.
Then we took the train to Sannomiya station to meet Tsukasa and Hiyama san. Hiyama is the coordinator of the RS musical workshop that we planned to do on the 21st. We also met with Yuki, a dance teacher that wanted to meet me and have me teach for her on the 21st. We all went to a beautiful Japanese restaurant in Kobe, ate too much and then went to a photo booth. Too much fun.
August 20th
The craziness begins…today we woke up early and went to the RS musical rehearsal for “the Wizard of Oz”. There were bright and excited and so ready to have us there. We watched their rehearsal and then we performed for them as a gift. I did my “find a Cure” solo and then I danced to Brandon playing his saxophone. They loved it!
Then we went to eat with Yuki and her boyfriend Hikari. We ate too much Chinese food and then headed straight for the bathhouse…awesome, our first traditional bathhouse, except for Tsukasa of course. Exhausted and ready for sleep we returned home to bed
August 21st
We woke up early and went to teach a workshop for the RS musical students. We had around 17 students for four hours, 10am-2pm. They were so open and ready for us to teach. First I taught dance, a little hip hop which they picked up incredibly fast, then Brandon taught music where they explore emotions and storytelling, and then Tsukasa taught drama where they explored monologues before and after physical activity. They were simply great, and they loved it.
Then we left to go to teach a dance class from 3:30-5:00 for a group of dancers Yuki usually teaches, and then Brandon and Tsukasa taught as well. We ended with a performance, and some hugs. Lots of Arigatos!
Then we went to eat with Hiyama and his family at a rotating sushi place…my favorite! And of course being the generous family they are they offered to drive us all the way to the top of a mountain. What a beautiful sight. We are super lucky to be here with so many open hearted people.
August 22nd
We woke up and went our friend Yuki’s soccer game where she was a dancer/cheerleader. Then we went out to eat with Tsukasa’s family. (our day off) wonderful.
