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| Bugaku (舞楽) Dance Ritual performance at Meiji Shrine, Tokyo (Por Gustavo Thomas. 2011) |
In May 2011 I had the opportunity to see live a Bugaku 舞楽 dance ritual performance at one of the most beautiful temples of Japan, the Meiji Shrine, in Tokio.
Bugaku is a group of court dances with more than 1200 years of age and it was till the 1950's of the last century that those dances were hidden from the general public.
Obviously I'm not a connoisseur but it seems that what I saw that day was a very standard version of these dances: very slow, smooth and rhythmic movements with a royal attitude performed by a group of dancers wearing Buddhist clothes (even when the Meiji shrine, in this case, is a Shinto temple).
The act of dancing is very short; the music and the musicians have a very important role; and the preparation and the exit of the dancers occupies most of the time of the performance itself (that's a very common characteristic of Japanese ritual performing arts).
In my point of view (very ignorant in anything about Japanese ritual dances) what's remains in the memory of everyone is the visual beauty of the spectacle with such a formidable set around.
Bugaku is a group of court dances with more than 1200 years of age and it was till the 1950's of the last century that those dances were hidden from the general public.
Obviously I'm not a connoisseur but it seems that what I saw that day was a very standard version of these dances: very slow, smooth and rhythmic movements with a royal attitude performed by a group of dancers wearing Buddhist clothes (even when the Meiji shrine, in this case, is a Shinto temple).
The act of dancing is very short; the music and the musicians have a very important role; and the preparation and the exit of the dancers occupies most of the time of the performance itself (that's a very common characteristic of Japanese ritual performing arts).
In my point of view (very ignorant in anything about Japanese ritual dances) what's remains in the memory of everyone is the visual beauty of the spectacle with such a formidable set around.
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| Bugaku (舞楽) Dance Ritual performance at Meiji Shrine, Tokyo (Por Gustavo Thomas. 2011) |
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| Bugaku (舞楽) Dance Ritual performance at Meiji Shrine, Tokyo (Por Gustavo Thomas. 2011) |
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| Bugaku (舞楽) Dance Ritual performance at Meiji Shrine, Tokyo (Por Gustavo Thomas. 2011) |
You can see in other post of this Blog, about my first visit to Tokyo in 2008, some ancient documents from the National Museum depicting Bugaku dancers: http://gustavothomastheatre.blogspot.ca/2010/03/ancient-scroll-images-of-bugaku.html
Bugaku Dance Performance at Meiji Shrine, Tokyo (2011) from Gustavo Thomas on Vimeo.
Bugaku Dance Performance at Meiji Shrine, Tokyo (2011)
Slideshow of the Bugaku Dance Performance at Meiji Shrine
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