I Danced a 500-Year-Old Dance in the Streets of Japan

Parading down the street during the Awa Odori dance festival in Naruto

Awa Odori (Tokushima Dance) was one of the most rewarding experiences of my summer. While I participated in the downtown festival as a puppeteer, my highlight was dancing with Uki Uki Ren troupe in the small suburban town of Naruto.  
 
In June, I practiced with Uki Uki Ren every Tuesday. Though women dance in both the male and female style, I chose the female style, Onna Odori. Every week, the Onna Odori dancers lined up in rows of three and practiced our steps in black platform sandals called geta, walking back and forth to the music of drums, stringed shamisen, flutes, and a bell called a kane. In July, we practiced twice a week and added deceptively challenging arm movements to the Onna Odori. The two women beside me in line quickly became my mentors, teaching me the choreography for our upcoming stage performance and street parade. 

Me wearing a dance kimono (with a fan tucked in the obi), and my straw cassa

These two sisters stood next to me in line and became my Awa Odori mentors

On August 8th, the best four days of my summer began. Hattori-San, the unflappable octogenarian who taught me the bulk of my puppetry skills, became my right-hand-woman. Every night, she strapped me into my dance kimono, fastening three layers of fabric to my body with what seemed like 100 clips, belts, and small pink ropes.
​
On the first night, I was paralyzed with fear during our onstage performance. Luckily, I had chances to improve. For the next three days, the dancers and musicians of Uki Uki Ren paraded down the crowded suburban streets of Naruto. It was so hot that women slipped ice packs and fans into the folds of their kimonos, sweating underneath their taco-like straw hats. I carried a towel and mopped my brow between dances, drinking beer from a refreshment cart wheeled by a team of hyper-organized dance moms.

The Onna Odori dancers of Uki Uki Ren

​I packed my traditional white socks with cotton to soften the repeated blows of the geta, and woke up every morning determined to rest for the few hours before Hattori-San and I had to do it all over again. Though exhausted, I couldn’t help smiling as I wobbled down the street. By the end of the week, my form had improved remarkably. I grew close with the dancers in my troupe, who watched over me like so many sisters, mothers, and grandmothers. It didn't escape me how lucky I was to experience Awa Odori as a foreigner. A year ago, who could have predicted that I would be doing a 500-year-old dance on the streets of Naruto, Japan? 

Multiple troupes (including Uki Uki Ren) dance together in the Naruto festival finale. 

A few weeks after the festival ended, I danced one last time, performing with Uki Uki Ren at a hotel. My parents were visiting, and sat in the audience with Hattori-San and my host sister Maria. There were fewer dancers than usual, and I learned at the last minute that I would have to do choreography beyond walking in a straight line. I was terrified, but surprised myself by stepping in time without incident. Looking out into the audience, I saw that both Hattori-San and Maria were crying, and my heart almost burst.

Dancing onstage for my parents, Hattori-San, and Maria. 

After our performance, my fellow troupe members showered me with hugs and goodbye gifts, my mother snapped pictures, and my teacher slipped my borrowed sandals back into my hands. I'm packing them into my suitcase tonight, and have no idea what I'll do with them, other than look at them and remember the time I ventured outside my comfort zone and found nothing but love, support, and sweat in the process.