Odori vs Mai and how it can all be Nihon Buyoh

Welcome to the first of my entries on "odori" in wild anticipation of the show in April.  We are all VERY VERY busy preparing everything at the moment and I barely have time to practice...yikes!  But lots of ponderings to ponder on the art and performance of kabuki odori.  So welcome and I hope you find this all interesting.  I shall try to write about once a week and then daily during the whole event (with shorter entries I'm sure!) First pondering:  the difference between "odori" and "mai"

Nihon Buyoh literally means “Japanese Dance” and is a modern term. There are many words for “dance” in Japanese :
1)    dansu – for non-Japanese dance, eg: bari dansu (Balinese dance),  tappu dansu (tap dance)  etc.
2)    mai – slow circular Japanese dance
3)    odori – fast, lively Japanese dance

Mai is found in noh.  Mai is also the main kind of dance found in the Kyoto, Osaka regions. In nihon buyoh, there are types of dance like jiuta-mai or kamigata-mai which are predominantly the creation of the Kyoto/Osaka geiko (geisha) and are meant to be danced in a small room for a private audience.  They are slow and moody, with lyrics usually steeped in heartbreak and unattainable love.
Odori is the main form of dance in kabuki.  It tells stories and has characters.  It is usually lively and active, and although it is not always fast it has a certain energy or spirit that really separates it from mai.
The movement and techniques of odori and mai as they pertain to the world of nihon buyoh are similar – the music and moods are different, but the forms are similar.
Our upcoming performance focuses on ODORI…maybe in a future one we will do MAI!


image: Colleen Lanki dancing the jiutamai Kurokami. photo: Harry Brewster