A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to go watch a really great performance by a dance troupe out of Tokyo named Sho No Ryu (afterwards I promptly got the flu and forgot to do a write up on it until now -_-;;;;). These performers did a fantastic job! They combine traditional elements of Japanese folk dance and music with modern flare to make it more appealing to a multicultural and diverse audience of both the young and old. When I realized it wouldn't be done exclusively in an old fashion after having driven quite a ways to attend (first time I've crossed a time zone twice in a day for an event), I had doubts as to whether I would end up liking the performance. I very strongly prefer the traditional movements and sounds. So imagine my surprise when I loved it as much as I did. I really enjoy Japanese folk music and a lot of the pieces that accompanied the dances had the feel of old favorites, but with the occasional added flair of rock music instrumentals and other new sounding bits. The wardrobe was also quite beautiful and the props were charming. From stunning dance kimono and festival hanten to matching montsuki and hakama, they had it all. Their dance fans even had the troupe's mon carefully painted on them. As to choosing a favorite dance, I think I'd have to pick "Isshinm Tasuke-The Fishmonger". It was performed by Kenta Matsushita (stage name Sho Genshiro), and he gave such vibrant emotion to each movement. But you could definitely feel the love of the art form emanating from all of the dancers. After the program concluded the audience was treated to a meet and greet with these talented professionals. My selfie skills were lacking pretty badly that day but I did manage to get a few photos. The last is of a stylishly dressed audience member standing to the left of Mitsuki Farsky (her stage name is Sho Senfumi), who runs the only Sho no Ryu studio outside of Japan. I've not been able to find any information on that particular studio yet, but I'll post it if I do. Understandably no video was allowed to be taken, but I did find 2 of Sho Senfumi on YouTube from another performance she did in 2011 and I'm including them along with the website of Sho No Ryu's main studio in Tokyo.
http://shounoryu.com/
On a side note, I decided to go out for a bite of sushi after the performance. Since it was a Sunday, most of the smaller Japanese places I would have liked to have visited were closed. So I ended up taking my chances on a Japanese/Korean restaurant named Dosirak House. And as a result my taste buds were rewarded with many tasty nigiri and delicious genmaicha. They had many friendly and familiar customers and the environment was warm and welcoming. And even though they were short handed because a server had called out at the last minute, they took extremely good care of me. And as such, I'm including their Yelp page to help you find them. :)
http://m.yelp.com/biz/dosirak-house-fort-walton-beach
On a side note, I decided to go out for a bite of sushi after the performance. Since it was a Sunday, most of the smaller Japanese places I would have liked to have visited were closed. So I ended up taking my chances on a Japanese/Korean restaurant named Dosirak House. And as a result my taste buds were rewarded with many tasty nigiri and delicious genmaicha. They had many friendly and familiar customers and the environment was warm and welcoming. And even though they were short handed because a server had called out at the last minute, they took extremely good care of me. And as such, I'm including their Yelp page to help you find them. :)
http://m.yelp.com/biz/dosirak-house-fort-walton-beach
