NORA SMITH
Staff Writer
As Week Nine’s partnership with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival continues, Chautauquans will have the chance to familiarize themselves with Japanese culture ahead of the Obon celebration at 3 p.m. Sunday on Bestor Plaza.
From 4 to 5:15 p.m. today and from 9:15 to 10:30 a.m. Friday, National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow and Bon Odori master teacher Adrienne Reiko Iwanaga will offer free Bon Odori dance workshops at Carnahan-Jackson Dance Studios for participants of all ages and experience levels.
“The Japanese Obon Festival tradition is based in Buddhist traditions that honors our ancestors and looks toward the light of the future,” Vice President of Performing and Visual Arts Laura Savia said. “It’s a festival associated with dancing and drumming and food and beautiful lanterns, and we are going to have all of those ingredients.”
Savia said at the core of an Obon celebration, and therefore at the center of the community event on Sunday, is Bon Odori, a Japanese social dance involving traditional folk dances that is both fun and accessible.
Before Sunday’s outdoor gathering, Chautauquans will have ample opportunity to experience the traditional dance technique.
“We are beyond fortunate to have one of the great living teachers of Bon Odori with us in Week Nine,” Savia said. She said Iwanaga will offer an opportunity for Chautauquans to experience something new.
“Chautauqua is all about taking a leap and trying something new, and I think Bon Odori will be new for almost everyone here,” Savia said. She emphasized that the events present an opportunity to get to know Iwanaga and the dances ahead of the event on Sunday. She said no experience is necessary in attending both the Obon celebration and the classes, and participants don’t need to attend both workshop classes.
“Then, when we all gather on Sunday, of course, people should come to the festival, whether or not they came to the workshop, but the people who did go to the workshops will have a leg up,” Savia said. “They’ll already have a sense of the music. They’ll already know some of the moves.”
In addition to Iwanaga hosting workshop classes to introduce community members to Bon Odori, Savia said George Tanabe — a Buddhist scholar who will give the Interfaith lecture at 2 p.m. today in the Hall of Philosophy — will deliver the opening remarks at the Obon Celebration on Sunday.
Tanabe said the celebration is an opportunity for Chautauquans to immerse themselves in a hands-on activity.
“It’s folk dancing, so it’s really simple. It’s not hard,” Tanabe said.
He added that while the dance is simple enough to easily follow along, it is also quite engaging and celebratory.
“Chautauqua has never done anything quite like this,” Savia said. “I think that for those who choose to attend on Sunday at 3 p.m., it will be one of those memory-making moments. Like when we watched the drone fireworks at the sesquicentennial, it will just be a communal and sensory feast that people aren’t going to ever forget.”
