I've listened and watched the Okinawan music and dance at the Shuri Castle site many times and I never get tired of it. The instruments, the music, the dance, and the costumes are all unique to Okinawa.
This three stringed instrument is called a sanshin. It has a snakeskin covered body and is considered the heart of Okinawan folk music.
The Ryukyu bingata kimono is worn for this dance performance. Bingata is a traditional stencilled resist dyeing technique which originated in Okinawa.
The performances are free to watch and scheduled several times a day during the holiday season.
Last Sunday I attended the dance performance of the little pink dress girl. The anti- coronavirus spread safety measures were strict. It was held in a large hall, distanced seating, masks required, hand sanitizer, temperature checks, the whole nine yards. The tickets even had a tear off with name and contact information on the back in case contact tracing would be necessary after the show.
The performance was nearly three hours long, with two 15 minute intermissions. There were some longer pieces that included all of the students of the school, from the little bitties to the girls on point. There were other pieces that looked like they involved just the students in one class level. You can't imagine how happy I was to be invited to this program! I took dance classes for many years - ballet, jazz, tap, and modern. I was in a few performances. Here is a photo from one when I was about 25 years old in Boone, North Carolina.
When I moved to a new place, I looked for a new dance school. I took classes at Western Illinois University and Appalachian State University, as well as private dance schools. My favorite teacher was Toni Intravaia in Carbondale, Illinois, who died in 2018 at age 95, dancing and teaching until the end. She wrote me newsy letters after I moved to Japan. Here is a PBS interview with her at age 90. A really remarkable woman.
Attending the dance performance was a little nostalgic, and it also gave me great happiness to see the young dancers.
