Thursday 30 November 2017

♡About Japanese Dance♡ Part 2: What's Needed♡

Hello! ♡
For the first part of this post, click here! In this part, I'll talk about what is needed for Japanese dance. At the least, you need...




       


A kimono. Japanese dance is ALWAYS done in kimono. I have two- a yukata for practice, and a fancier silk hikifurisode (basically- a furisode, so long-sleeved kimono, with a long, trailing hem) for performing, which I wear along with a full outfit of an apprentice geisha, complete with makeup, hair ornaments, etc. Now, for practice, I'd recommend a yukata. It's cheaper (mine cost 18$ without shipping, I saw $12 ones too) than a silk kimono (usually), and much more comfortable- yukata are very very lightweight. Yukata are also easier to put on and don't require as many accessories. Under the yukata, just wear a pair of leggings and a camisole. 




An obi. The obi is the belt that goes around the kimono. How you tie it is up to you. For practice, I tie it in the classic box-shaped knot called otaiko musubi. It's not easy, but not particularly difficult, either. Other suitable knots include the simple kai-no-kuchi musubi, which is traditionally a male knot, but has been quite popular with women lately. There's also the chouchou musubi, which is the bow knot often seen with yukata. For the kai no kuchi and chouchou musubi, you need a hanhaba obi- an obi that is half as wide as a regular one. They tend to be cheaper than full-width silk ones. I have only one obi, a silk maru obi, which I use for both my maiko outfit and dance practice. So I really have no choice but the otaiko musubi ^^

EDIT: I have bought a hanhaba obi, so I rarely use my maru for practise now ^^



 A dance fan. There are only a few dances without a dance fan. Start by purchasing one basic fan, called a mai ougi (lit. dance fan). It's important not to buy a sensu, a regular folding fan, as mai ougi are different- they are bigger, and specifically made for dance. You can easily find them on eBay for under $20 with shipping by using search terms such as "Dance fan", "Japanese dance fan", "Mai sensu" and "Mai ougi". If you're not officially part of any dance school, feel free to get any fan you want, as long as it doesn't bear the crest of any dance school. Later on, or straight away if you prefer, it's a good idea to invest in two more fans- an uchiwa fan, and another folding fan. Why? An uchiwa fan is a Japanese summer fan. It doesn't fold, and is used in some Summer dances. The good news is that those fans are very plentiful and cheap on eBay ^^ Why should you get another folding fan? Some dances require two fans to be used- Momiji no Hashi, Matsu Zukushi, Kimi ni Ougi Hanagasa, and Kiku Zukushi are the ones I can name from the top of my head.  I have two mai ougi- a gradient purple one, and a cherry blossom one, pink on one side and yellow on the other with a bit of gold.




A dance veil- this is optional. The dances I can name that use one of those are Rokudan Kuzushi, Washi ga Zaishou, Ujicha and Akebono. The Japanese name is mai tenugui and it's basically just a 120x40cm (approx) silk cloth with some designs on it. There is a wide range of designs. You can buy these quite cheaply on Rakuten and Yahoo! Japan Auctions (searching eBay didn't give me any results) by searching 日本舞踊手ぬぐい. Or, you can do what I did, and make your own for under $5. I got a 135x40cm piece of nice white fabric- not silk, but many mai tenugui today are made from other materials, too. Then, I made stencils from plastic folders and stamped on the design with a sponge and paint. My design features cherry blossoms, cherry blossom petals and silver butterflies. Boom! Now I can learn and dance 4 new dances ~ 





And that's all you need to start dancing! You can easily get everything for under $100. Even if you're not thinking of taking up Japanese dance, I hope you found this post interesting and learnt something new! ~ In the next post, I'll talk a bit about my own experiences with dance, and perhaps I'll discuss a few dances too~ 

Have a lovely day!
~Milky ♡

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