The Shizuoka Festival is performed in a gay manner in April every year, when the cherry flowers are in full bloom. The dancing part, in which residents participate, was added in 1995 at the festival's 40th anniversary with the intention of spreading the event more into the local citizens. Ms. Uchiyama Fusako, a city resident, was in charge of choreography. Uchiyama says, "I asked Mr. Kawabe Makoto, a composer born in Shizuoka, to arrange Sakura Sakura and Chakkiri-bushi (both are Japanese folk tunes) in an up-tempo style. They turned out to be the pieces of music, Sakura '96 and Chakkiri. Then I choreographed them in a lighthearted jazz dance style. " Ms. Uchiyama has been interested in dancing since she was a student. She even competed as a gymnast in the Inter-high (a big athletic event for high school students).
Arranged slow-tempo version especially for senior citizens
The choreographer looks back and says, "I went to Finland while I was studying physical education in college. I was fascinated by the jazz exercise there, and immediately joined an intensive course in a physical education college." Uchiyama continues, "After that, I participated in the Japanese Peace Corps to visit three Latin countries, and I took jazz dance lessons in Costa Rica. I came up with an idea of mixing jazz exercise and jazz dance, which is called jaggy or jazz-gymnastics, to fulfill both health and artistic purposes. I had been teaching since the school opened in 1980, but at the time, I was just about to retire." That was when she was asked to choreograph for the Night Cherry Blossom Dancing. "My daughter who studied dance in New York, helped me for this project. We also arranged a slow-tempo version so that it will be enjoyable for senior citizens as well. Fortunately, the people liked it, and as many as 3,000 people ranging from kindergarten children to those in their 70' enjoyed dancing on the festival day." She is receiving inquiries about her dance lessons from all over the place. Thanks to her fun choreography, the people are getting more enthusiastic about the festival.
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