Awa Odori
I am a dancer with the Los Angeles based Awa Odori Tokushima Ren. The group is a traditional Japanese folk dance troupe that dances in the form of "Awa Odori." It is said, "the dancers are fools, those that watch are fools, well then if everyone are fools, why not dance?"
History of Awa Odori
The dance form of Awa Odori is from Tokushima ken. Awa was the ancient name for Tokushima.
The origins of the dance has a history of over 400 years. It is said , that after the lord Hachisuka Iemasa of the area declared that the Tokushima castle was completed, the townspeople were so happy that they began to dance crazy and with drunken spirit. On watchers called the dancers "fools" because of the wild movements of the dancers. The term "Baka odori" (fools dance) became associated with the form of dance during celebrations. Eventually, the dance form became refined by the dance leaders and is the visual form we see today. During "Obon" ( A buddhist celebration) the dance became popular during the celebration and to improve business during the Showa Period (1926) a formal festival during Obon was established. Today, over 100,000 persons visit Tokushima for the 4 day Awa Odori Festival in August. Awa Odori is danced all over Japan and at many festivals. Tokushima is the largest and the second largest is in Koenji, Tokyo. More information see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awa_Dance_Festival.
The origins of the dance has a history of over 400 years. It is said , that after the lord Hachisuka Iemasa of the area declared that the Tokushima castle was completed, the townspeople were so happy that they began to dance crazy and with drunken spirit. On watchers called the dancers "fools" because of the wild movements of the dancers. The term "Baka odori" (fools dance) became associated with the form of dance during celebrations. Eventually, the dance form became refined by the dance leaders and is the visual form we see today. During "Obon" ( A buddhist celebration) the dance became popular during the celebration and to improve business during the Showa Period (1926) a formal festival during Obon was established. Today, over 100,000 persons visit Tokushima for the 4 day Awa Odori Festival in August. Awa Odori is danced all over Japan and at many festivals. Tokushima is the largest and the second largest is in Koenji, Tokyo. More information see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awa_Dance_Festival.
Awa Odori Tokushima Ren
Awa Odori Tokushima Ren is a traditional Japanese folk dance troupe that dances in the form of "Awa Odori" The group is based in the Los Angeles area and has its studio in Gardena, California. Awa Odori Tokushima Ren is one of two "awa odori" dance groups in the US. The other is Awakko Ren in San Francisco which we dance we with. The artistic director is Machiko Fujii and she has been teaching awa odori in the US since 2005. The group has performed at many local Japanese events including: the JACCC Childrens Day festival, Little Tokyo Oshogatsu, Japanese Food Festival, Nisei Week Japanese Festival, the Los Angeles Tanabata Festival and the OC Japan Fest. In February of 2011, the group performed at the Arizona Matsuri in Phoenix and will again in 2014. Recently, the group has performed at many events supporting relief efforts for the Japanese due to the Japan earthquate and Tsunami. If you are interested in having the group perform at your event, contact me via the contact form.
Website: www.awaodori.weebly.com
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Website: www.awaodori.weebly.com
More photos