KSU Performs at KU Festival

On April 11th, the KSU Japanese Yosakoi Dance Club performed several dances at the University of Kansas. The KU Japan Festival, which is hosted and run by KU’s Japanese Student Association, featured a variety of performances ranging from Rakugo storytelling to Eisa dance, Japanese cultural skits and a fashion show. Yosakoi performed Net de Yosakoi, Soran Bushi and Samurai. This year’s performance was Yosakoi’s third consecutive performance at the annual KU festival. We were able to introduce new members to the KU festival and share in the Japanese culture presented by our neighboring state university. Yosakoi made the trip to Lawrence into a day trip where we enjoyed the festival performances during the afternoon, and finished the day by enjoying dinner at a sushi restaurant in downtown Lawrence. The event was a fun way for KSU Yosakoi to share our dance in the cultural performances during the festival, and to show appreciation for some of the groups who will be performing in our own KSU Japan Festival this weekend.

KSU Open House

This last Sat around 2:30 Yosakoi which had been scheduled to perform behind the library and was reassigned to the Union plaza.  Having all met at the Library we used the added time to get as ready as possible. Some people were stretching others reviewing the dances and others just relaxing before dancing in the sun. We went to the plaza a little early to watch the other performances  which included the KC Marching Cobras always a treat.   Then the K-state Tap group and that group broke in half and joined some hand drummers to become the K-state African Rhythm and dance group.  We were up after them and performed 2 dances;  where we had as I would assume a much larger audience than we would have behind the library better sound too.  It was a beautiful spring day barely a cloud in the sky and we were all ready to show our yosakoi pride.  I was able to catch the second dance on VIDEO it was called Net de yosakoi. This is the dance that if some members choose to go to Japan will be the one performed there.  After the dance we dispersed eager to be out of the hot sun. All round this was a great performance and very fun.

jordan

Yosakoi Performs at Naka-Kon

The Yosakoi group were highlighted as guests of honor at Naka-kon 2009. This Anime convention, which is hosted annually, took place this year at the Hyatt hotel in the Crown Center shopping area. Yosakoi members enjoyed an early-morning roadtrip to the hotel, where they registered and had lunch before teaching a workshop. Four members of the team taught Soran Bushi to Naka-con participants while QiuXia vocalized the different steps and ran the music.

After dinner at Kabuki, a Japanese restaurant inside Crown Center, the team returned to the convention and performed 3 dances during an exhibition of Anime costumes and Japanese culture. This was Yosakoi’s debut of the dance Net de Yosakoi. After the performance, while judges were deciding the results of the costume contest, Yosakoi was asked to come back onstage. The group performed Yocchore as a finale to the evening’s performance. After an exhausting but enjoyable day, Yosakoi returned to Manhattan, having debuted their new dance to an enthusiastic audience in a new venue.