About us│Kirizaki Japanese Classical Dance Academy & Associates

About us

We have two organization. One is "Kirizaki Jiuta Dance Practice Group"which focuses on class lessons. Another is "Kirizaki Japanese Classical Dance Academy & Associates" which focuses on outside activities. Students who are allowed to serve as masters are able to teach on their own initiative. we are aiming create a system with more development potential.

Carefully and wisely

About us

How can we make use of the posture of our predecessors?

Things that are made with great care shall have the power to reach people's hearts.

At an accommodation facility in Aomori, people who tasted the rice balls with great care made by the woman owner who born in Taisho era of the accommodation facility in Aomori drops a tear because of sanctifying their hearts. I hear that a cooking expert born in Taisho era and living in Kamakura cooks with great care considering the mind of ingredients and believing the power of food.

Thing that are made with great care shall touch their heart. that is why food is important. So, food not only nourishes body but also offer mental and spiritual sustenance.

It is not limited to food.

I think the same thing applies to our daily lives.
so how do we put our heart into something?

If you finch from facing something which takes time and effort, please try to think a various solution as much as you could. Also please goes to any expense, deals with obvious things in the most obvious way, imagines mind of the people who touches and receives and think about mind of thing which you are handling.

The reason why Japanese culture is so wonderful is because of living philosophy of many ancestors which cherished many things.

we believe we need to face their philosophy seriously to be much closer to an appreciation of Mai.

Such philosophy effects on the consciousness and then propagates as an invisible force and wave motion. but you need to concentrate your focus to feel it because it is a very minute feeling. We trace what our ancestors felt by concentrating your focus. Mai is the way to embody it for us.

We are facing daily life or Mai picking up on things that cannot be summarized in easy words carefully. we are hoping to be just a little closer to living philosophy of ancestors.

Performance

Workshop

Cultural exchange

More details

Performances

Students are selected purely by their ability to appear on the stage. to make a best Mai performance we do not forced them ticket selling quota or bearing participation fee naturally.

Originally Mai was performed at Zashiki (Tatami room). So we would like to be particular about the performance place as Zashiki not a theater very much. There are some difficulties to perform at a small space without a soundproof equipment and lighting equipment but a various impression you can enjoy is immeasurable. We hope that everyone could feel those impression.

Workshop

In Japan for a long-time people have places more emphasis to control the body by bones not by muscles. Perhaps that is why there are many old people could do a wonderful body movement. In our workshops you could experience the body has many functions through fundamental Mai movement such as standing the pelvis, walking on the arches without kicking, lowering the shoulder blades, and relaxing the surface tension.

In addition we will progress our workshop digging Japanese culture deeply from a various point of view kindly about the expressions of Mai (the meaning of unchanged facial expressions, gaze and choreography etc.) after watching Mai, Mai experience (traying to dance whole song or part etc)and Mai history (difference of Odori and Mai). While valuing the perspective of delving into culture from various angles, such as matter (about dance and mai, how to synchronize the breathing with Jiuta musicians etc.), Kimono manners and customs (about old Japanese hairstyle, wearing Kimono, wearing a kimono with long hem etc.)

Cultural exchange

In Japan mountains and sea is very near and there are many slopes. Also, there are many plants and trees are growing. So fluffy slippery ground is made by fallen leaves. We had been walking, on this unique ground condition for a long period. Due to this local color nature builds an original walking way, feeling and distance sense between people and nature for the period of tens of thousands of years.

Japanese language has over 400 words to describe rain and over 2000 words to describe wind. It means that our ancestors were feeling the difference of sounds and smells and having a sense to describe a various scene.

We would like to do by our best effort to introduce the sense which we believe as a real nature but what we could introduce shall be limited in this workshop. We hope you to find a hint to enjoy the difference of each culture to touch our culture.

photo:松本和幸

Tsurujo

Tsurumaru

Gentsuru

Sayajo

Tamatsuru

Kojo

Suzujo

7 Mai Dancers

We have dancers with unique personalities.