Dancing, Singing, and Losing a Shoe!

Konnichiwa! It is day 20 of the Japan trip and boy oh boy is it a humid one! Two hours ago I had such a wonderful experience with the Children of the Sun chorus from the town of Kochi. These kids are ages 9 to 11 and are quite the bunch. They sang two songs, one in Japanese, one in English and both were super cute! We ended up singing "Furusato," "Tegami" and "New York, New York" and the kids enjoyed them.

Afterward we joined them in their traditional dance and we were given instruments to use. It was quite the experience watching YPC’ers concentrate fully on the lovely lady who danced in the middle, trying to copy her every move. The experience then turned humorous when after our attempt at their traditional dance, we taught them "Run, Run, Run my Baby." It is nothing like a traditional dance, but all of us really love it.

At first, the Children of the Sun choristers were a bit shy, but after a while most of them got into it and it was indeed a success. Singing, dancing, laughing and playing with the kids was truly beautiful and it was unfortunate that we only spent an hour with them. Being in Japan, I have learned that the people here are passionate about one another and the environment around them. The generosity and care of the Japanese people is astonishing and these shining qualities will absolutely be missed.

As far as concerts go, last night was one I will most definitely remember. As I was about to dance across to the other side of the stage during "Take Me to the Water," my shoe decided to slip off. So, the only option was to keep on dancing with one shoe and try to complete the song without losing myself to laughter (it was extremely difficult). Anywho, the next song starts and my shoe is in the middle of the stage, longing for my foot. Luckily, we move around during this song so my friend and fellow alto Alphea, slides my shoe over to me (with the utmost grace) and I quickly slip my shoe back on and went on singing!

- Emma Kate Hirschhorn/Chorister