Miniature Geisha

Chisato, me, and Masumi.

Two of my favorite girls invited me to a dance performance of theirs last weekend.  The style is called buyou, a generic term used for traditional Japanese dance forms.  As we know it, modern buyou is based on traditional performances by kabuki players.  Those kabuki players (all men, by the way) lifted the dances from the geisha of the time, popularizing them in the theaters.  It's a classic example of the relationship between female prostitution and dance, as historically, dance forms done by women were relegated to brothels, brought to the stage by male performers, and finally reclaimed by women.  Today, women of all ages learn and perform buyou.  This honors the beauty of the history and serves to elevate the geisha to the level they deserve: that of artist.  (To read more about the relationship between dance and prostitution, read "Something In The Way She Moves," by Wendy Buonaventura.)  But enough about the past: on to my students and their beautiful dancing!  In the picture to the left, it's easy to see how fancy their outfits were, and how much larger-than-life they make them.  These girls are smaller than me in every way, and I am dwarfed by them in this picture.   

Their section began with Chisato on the stage proper and Masumi entering from stage right near the audience.  They performed movements that sometimes mirrored each other, and sometimes played back-and-forth.  (Did I mention, the girls are identical twins?)  The dance is delicate, with subtle head gestures and flips of the massive amounts of fabric they're wearing.  Below is a clip from early on in their performance.  The soloist is Chisato; Masumi joins her about 45 seconds in.  It's not good quality, but oh well.

It was wonderful to watch them.  I have infinite respect for their ability.  They were so graceful and poised onstage, with maturity beyond their fourteen years.  I also think it's lovely how they performed together, showing a narrative where women love and support each other.  Both girls had solos as well as time onstage together.  Below is a short video of part of Masumi's solo.  She expertly handled fans for her solo, sometimes flipping them delicately in the air, catching them with cool charm.  

They were also the only dancers who had musicians onstage with them.  The group is performing a kind of classical Japanese music on tsuzumi (the little drums), shamisen (the stringed instrument in the back) and fue (the flute).  Three of the women are also singing.  The last performance I saw of theirs, they played the tsuzumi with this same group, so it made sense that they would have them as backup here.  While it made the stage more crowded, I enjoyed seeing the musicians.  It united the two forms in a way that isn't typical.  In the end, the two girls posed under their umbrellas, gesturing toward the audience in a regal acknowledgement of our presence.  Bravo!