Heeeey Macarena!

Oh yes, that's the right, the famed dance of '96-'97. Why mention it now, you might ask? Well, because, tonight, in the company of about 25 middle aged women, I Macarena'd it up in a gym in Gojome, Akita-ken, Japan. By far the strangest, most surreal experience since I arrived! haha

Let's back-track for a moment. So, I got invited to go watch/dance with this Yosakoi dance team in the next town over. I had my suspicions as to the nature of this dance troupe (i.e. middle aged women doing aerobics rather than young people performing energetic modern folk dances), but I decided to check it out anyway. I did some Yosakoi dancing at Berkeley, and I'm anxious to continue to learn while I'm here because it's really fun! So I get to the gym where the team will practice, and my first tip off that this wasn't quite what I'd hoped for, was that 3 women told me they have daughters my age... Anyway, I joined in for the warm-up and stretching, and then we did part of the dance that I guess they (and maybe me also now) will perform at the National Sports Competition in Oct.

Oh, I don't know if I've mentioned it here yet, but the sport competition is like the Olympics of Japan (i.e. competitors from all the prefectures gather for a competition in all kinds of sports - think summer Olympics). This year it's being hosted in Akita, so many cities are hosting different events (my town is volleyball and basketball). Side note: the mascot for Akita Prefecture for the games is a cedar tree character named Sugichi.

Okay, so we did the Sugichi dance, which, yes, included imitating a cedar tree. Pretty silly, but I liked it. Afterwards, they practiced a bunch of dances and I watched. Honestly, it looked to me like an 80s or early 90s aerobics class, and I half expected Olivia Newton John to come in a commend them for getting physical. They even did a dance to that "Venus" song. I was trying so hard not to just burst out laughing! I mean, they were pretty good, and these ladies could definitely move, but the whole situation was so ridiculous! And then, they turned to me, and were like "Macarena? Do you know Macarena?"

So, with flashbacks to Gina Wells' birthday party in '96, I channeled my 10year old self, and lead the ladies in the Macarena! hahahaha I couldn't hold it in anymore, so I was laughing and macarena-ing at the same time (tiring!), and just when I thought it couldn't get anymore ridiculous, the teacher decided to put on a sped up version of the song (like for aerobics class!)!! Alright, now picture this, me and 25 Japanese ladies twice or more my age doing a speedy Macarena in a small-town gym in The Middle of Nowhere, Japan.
Ahahahaha!!! Yep, it was as hilarious as it sounds! =D

Anyway, I don't think I'm going really join their team (especially since their practices conflict with karate), but I am going again next week with Christy. The dance instructor asked me to teach the Yosakoi dance I did at Berkeley, so I will do that next week, and I'm looking forward to it. That, and the Sugichi dance! haha I don't know if I'll be able to Macarena again... I might die of laugher...