Most Japanese traditions seem unusual and strange to Europeans, and dancing is no exception. Consider the skillful and slow dances of geisha, the Kagura dance pantomime performed by Shinto servants, or the esoteric Noh dance, understandable only to educated people.
Instructions
Step 1
The Japanese rarely divide art into its constituent parts, in Japan it is not customary not only to single out certain types of dances, but also to divide art into dance, musical, literary and other types. They all developed simultaneously throughout Japanese history and influenced each other. However, some individual dances can be distinguished based on their characteristics.
Step 2
The main feature of Japanese dances is their close relationship with other areas of art and focus not only on external aesthetic signs, but also on internal content. One dance is a pantomime, the other is a whole theater without words, where all actions, speech and deeds are expressed in the form of body movements, and there are dances that replace prayer.
Step 3
Kagura is an ancient Shinto dance that was danced by adherents of this religious movement as a prayer. The dance has not only an external form, but also a content, it tells about the creation of the world by the goddess Amaterasu. This is a pantomime dance in which movements symbolize various actions. The real ancient kagura lasted for a very long time - from morning to evening. After describing the myth of the creation of the world, the dancers showed various scenes - from dramatic to comic. Today they dance in a simplified form, accompanying the dance with drums and flute.
Step 4
The predecessor of dances in the No theater is the Mai dances. They were performed by dancers from the temple, the movements were mainly rotational, they held bamboo branches in their hands, which symbolized fertility.
Step 5
Noh theater is a special form of Japanese art closely associated with dance. Movements in Noh dances are called "kata", there are about 250 types of them, while only 30 are truly danceable. This is a slow dance, the performers perform each movement with special grace. Each kata has its own meaning, which educated spectators need to know in order to understand the meaning of the dance. For example, when a dancer lowers his head and raises his hand at eye level, pointing his palm up, he thus expresses crying.
Step 6
In the Noh theater, various props are actively used, which complement the meaning of the dance. Each object taking part in the performance symbolizes something. These can be fans, hats, masks, umbrellas. The most famous Japanese dances in the Noh theater are Kurokami, Gion Kouta and Bon Odori, which are performed during the Obon festival. In each region, Bon odori is danced differently, with the movements dramatically different in different parts of the country.
