hip hop and dance scene in Nippon

One friend asked me how is the hip hop\dance scene in Japan as he is a dancer himself...I thought it would be good to share my response on my blog.

I came to Japan only 7 months ago, therefore my knowledge about J-hip hop is still limited. On the other hand, I was able to hang out with several people interested in that field up (or down depending where you are) in Gifu-ken.

Well...i dont know about the ones that paint their face black- i will probably look into it. One thing I can say after dancing with some Japanese for about 5 month: their technic is 95% of the time perfect. Japanese, in general, are amazing at mimicking and learn the perfect technics to learn particular dance move. You want them to break, pop, lock, crunck, do a R&B routine, learn "girls' style"etc they will do it all with assiduity and tons of practice.

The major difference between Japanese hip hop dance and american dance is the amount of moves put into an 8 count. They LOVE to have tons of move. In the States, choreographers believe that a routine does not need a million moves in it to be effective and enjoyable to watch.

Furthermore, when it comes to originality and flavour, this is where you might have a little issue. The thing with the competition, shows or practices I have seen so far is that generally (i emphasize that word) dancers here have a real hard time coming up with their own moves and flavour which make the dancing scene sometimes dull (this is my modest opinion here). And in my experience, as I danced a lot back home, when I tried to show some interesting ways of doing particular moves to spice things up, my counterparts would be polite, tell me thank you and than go on with exactly what they were doing before (after nicelyexplaining to me that this is THE way of doing this sequence according to the videos they have watched). Back home (btw I am canadian but for this matter-only this one!- lets us pretend the states and canada are similarlol), originality AND technic are both important ...numerous times your flavour is what would say if you are good or not. In Japan it is about the technic 150%...even when they try to go outside the box it would still be a perfect copy cat of what we have probably seen before.

I can even go further. Go in a magazine store and pick up any hip hop magazine...they actually have a manual about WHAT to wear AND HOW to wear it. That is the reason why when you get the hang of it, you can tell where some people are from (for example Tokyo or Osaka...) Again to compare to home, it is about being and expressing yourself whereas here it is more about fitting in the group...the concept of individuality by being in this or that particular group.

In my humble opinion, Japanese dancers would gain at look in their inner self to truly get their essence. Especially if they want to be recognize and put on the map ( well they are recognized to be great breakers...but isnt a style that requieres a lot of technic?) On the other hand, western societies could learn from their hard work and application :o).

Have an amazing day!

Ohisashiburi!

Long time, no write....

Things have been hectic since my last entry. I should remedy to the situation now.

Good news. Spring is finally here. It is only a matter weeks before the sakura (cherry blossom). During the time I did not write I traveled to the Philippines and of course learned numerous things. Which I might touch on in a later entry.

Apart from that, I was simply organizing a lot around me as well as religiously following the american political race between Obama and Clinton. Interesting race indeed...Although I cannot help to be cynical with the whole concept. In that regard, I probably reflect most people in developed countries that really does not really believe in the political system since there are not really any stakes (or that politicians pretend they will do something about this or that issue). Hum!....although the war in Irak right now might be one that touches sensitive cords particularly for our neighbors down south.

What is this race really about? I have noticed that the media does not really talk about the candidates' program but instead focus on White versus Black, Man versus Woman, New versus Old, War versus Dialogue. At this point, I really have to sit down and actually read couple of books and get to know each canditate to a certain level because right now I feel like I am left on my appetite when it comes to this 'race', particularly on the Democrate side.

On a side note, I believe that if as a whole the Democrates want to be successful in the big picture, they should stop playing dirthy and backstabbing each other...at the end of the day arent they suppose to be on the same team? Aaaah...the joys of politics!

News from Japan...not much! lol Some criminal stabbed someone in a store. Unfortunately for us, this is almost common news but the the Japanese with their low crime rate (I mean people are ACTUALLY safe in Japan), this is headline and a lot of people's topic conversation-if they follow news. Apparently street violence is on the rise in Nippon...they still have a long way to go before they reach our numbers!

That is it for today!