Shin-buyoh & Koten-buyoh

I went to see a happyôkai (recital) of the Otowa-ryû Japanese Dance Group on Sunday.  Otowa Hinaaki has been teaching in the Lower Mainland for 40 years and was celebrating with a fabulous concert featuring her students and two guest teachers from Japan.  Hinaaki-sensei is a fabulous force for Japanese dance and culture in BC, and her students are a fabulous team.  TomoeArts collaborated with her on the All Over the Map presentation “Summer Odori” last July, and two of her students performed in with us in the Procession of Performing Circles last March.

Most of the pieces were shin-buyoh 新舞踊 or “new dance” which is a more contemporary style of Japanese dance that uses many of the same movements as kabuki dance, but the pieces are shorter, and the music combines western and Japanese rhythms and instruments.  The repertoire is quite different thought the fundamentals of body position gender and energy is the same as koten buyoh 古典舞踊 or “Classical Dance.” The many categories of this form we cal nihon buyoh! 

Photos of Odori on FLICKR

Another thank-you to everyone who supported TomoeArts in our landmark project Odori. It was a huge success on all counts. Messages from the artists in Japan say they are all back to their regular busy lives in Japan working, teaching, and performing. They had a wonderful time here, and say they miss Canada!
Take a look at some photos from the show – taken by the amazing Trevan Wong and a few photos of the workshops too. Check out the new Odori: The World of Kabuki Dance photostream at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46550780@N03/sets/72157624348511596/show/with/4734721079/

It would be great to hear some feedback on Odori – so if you have any comments or thoughts – please let us know. We really want to hear what you think. We hope to do another large-scale traditional performance in the future, so any input is welcome to help us plan for the future!

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

Odori: The World of Kabuki Dance April 10-11, 2010

Odori: The World of Kabuki Dance showcases odori the dance of the kabuki theatre performed by 3 master dancer-actors from Japan: Fujima Shôgo, Izumi Tokuho and Fujima Monyo. These master dancers will join TomoeArts artistic director Colleen Lanki (Fujima Sayû) to bring Vancouver audiences two evenings of the art of odori - kabuki dance.

Do not miss this rare chance to see dances from the kabuki theatre performed in full costume wig and make-up!

There is a free lecture-demo on kabuki dance on April 9 at 7:30pm.

There will also be workshops, a display of kabuki ukiyoe (woodblock prints) and a series of talks and lectures. Please check the TomoeArts website soon for a complete list of events or contact info@tomoearts.org.


Tickets prices are $25/$20 seniors/$15 students.

To purchase call the Theatre at UBC box office: 604.822.2678.
Theatre at UBC website: www.theatre.ubc.ca