Kindergarten Kids Enjoy Bamboo Dance

Date/time: Tuesday, December 8, 2015 10:30a.m.-11:30a.m.

Venue: Kashiwa Midori Kindergarten, Kashiwa

Volunteers: AIRA Cultural Dance Group Members (Ms. Imerda Ono, Ms. Yukie Shimada)

　Kashiwa Midori Kindergarten implements a program for kids to let them choose any item out of three events, bamboo dance, Japanese dram wadaiko, and wild-horse-dance, and perform in a finishing stage.

　Stimulated by a TV program of bamboo dance for one thing, teachers wished to let kids see and practice a real dance for the other. In response to their request AIRA members visited and played with them, which was the second time since last year.

　Kids were playing freely with tree-climbing, skipping, etc., in the garden, while elder kids were ready in the room for the bamboo dance.

　Imelda explained that the bamboo dance should be done just like a Philippines bird tikling walks jumpingly on the ground. Then she and Ms. Shimada started to swiftly dance over the two bamboos handled by teachers at the 3-beat rhythm.

　Three kids volunteered to dare to dance with the two leaders, being assisted by them. At first their feet did not meet well to the rhythm, but later they got used to the tempo and finally one of them could dance well by himself.

　At the second round, more boys raised hands and started to dance.

　In the beginning most of them couldn’t do well, being afraid of their feet might be squeezed between the bamboos, but after an Imelda’s advice that each foot shouldn’t be put up but be bent, then their dance became well matched to the right rhythm. Ms. Shimada advised that when they dance girls should swing their hands right and left, while boys with hands on the lower back.

　After the lesson, leaders left the room with seeing-off high-touches by all children. We wonder how many kids would choose bamboo dance in the coming finishing party.

　In the last year’s bamboo dance performance, beside the regular dance using two bamboos, harder dance with two more bamboos moving crisscross, dancing under bamboos moving around like a long rope jumping, and some more types of dancing were performed.

(No. 15-17 Translated by T. Sugano)