Last week at this time, half the ALT population of Hokkaido was descending on Sapporo to take in the Yosakoi/Soran Matsuri(festival). The whole thing started out with a dance: Yosakoi...or was it Soran? Regardless, it was a dance developed down south in Japan meant to draw from the motions of fishermen hauling in nets and the chants that they used to keep time. But that's a bit like saying that Glee was developed from Christmas carollers. Yosakoi/Soran has grown so far beyond its beginnings that it is now little more than a vague musical/gesticular pattern within which the Japanese LOSE THEIR SHIT.
I did a far more elevated written tribute to Yosakoi last year, and it's all true, so check that out if you're still wondering. This year all I'm going to say is that I can never get enough of watching the dances and costumes and raw energy of Yosakoi daners. I could quite contently watch them ALL DAY, and I'm more than a little miffed that I wasn't able to lay hand to the D7000 before last weekend as I would have liked to have shot some actual video of the festival >: |
Ah well. I guess photos will have to suffice.
Hokkaido Daigaku(university), or Hokkudai as they are more commonly called, is famous in the Yosakoi game. Here's why:
Once again, Friend Perry was representing for the Niki-cho team:
If we're going to draw out the unfortunate Glee metaphor, the following team from Kyoto would have been the Vocal freaking Adrenaline of the competition. Someone commented that it looked as though the majority of their team was composed of hosts/hostesses and the younger genetic duplicates thereof.
Behold! The Hair unleashed!
And their bad-ass flagman:
From a different team:
If I was asked to sum up Yosakoi in a face, it would have to be this fierce number:
Team Ragtag!
And now, crappy, ISO-soup photos of friends dancing!
Finally, of course no day would be complete without The Tale of Captain Jack Sparrow:
No comments:
Post a Comment