JR Namba street dancers
A few days ago I set aside a few hours to check out Osaka’s Namba district, and happened upon an interesting scene at JR Namba station. Young people came and went through the building’s front courtyard, stopping to watch themselves and others dance in front of the area’s several mirrored walls and a giant reflective ball in the center. I wonder whether JR might have intended to create a spot for such a dance scene, foreseeing that people would enjoy watching themselves in the mirrors.
All the dancers appeared to be practicing more than showing off their moves. Alone or with friends, they would often stop in the middle of a routine or jump to another sort of dance without identifiable transitions.
When I started watching the dancers, the boy in the left of this photo was sitting listening to headphones, cross-legged with his eyes closed, nodding to the beat. After about 15 minutes it looked like inspiration struck him as he jumped up and started throwing his arms about and switching his feet from front to back very quickly. As quickly as he got up, he sat back down and started listening to music again. But as casual as the various street dancers seemed to take their pastime at some points, at others their moves revealed an underlying finesse undoubtedly acquired through many hours of diligent practice.
In the photo below, next to one of the mirrors a group is taking a break from the synchronized dance they were doing before I had the chance to photograph them. In the foreground you can more clearly see the distinct dress style of the person in the video after the next paragraph. His outfit is very similar in style to that of the dancers in this video.
I thought to ask him whether he intended for those particular shoes to match the big red block, but didn’t want to interrupt his routine.
At the entryway I met Alex, an American living in Tokyo and visiting Osaka for a few days. When I approached he’d been trying a break-dancing move involving tossing himself about on one hand under his torso, but he stopped for a moment to tell me a little about the street dancing scene in Osaka. The dance style in the video below, inspired by funk music, he said is called “Locking.” It takes its name from the way the dancers lock their hands bent backwards towards the forearm, and is very tightly synchronized with the music it’s set to (notice similar synchronization in the preceding video). In the background, a couple girls are practicing yet another style, for the most part watching themselves in the large metallic ball.
In the video you can hear Alex telling me that JR Namba station is the most popular spot in Osaka for these types of dancing. At a similar spot in Tokyo, he said, is where he picked up break-dancing. Among the various dances, that of the girls in the background of the video was also quite distinct, and notably more effeminate in its flowing movements.
But it’s not only in spots like JR’s Namba station that you’ll find street dancing. Train stations in general seem to be popular for it, even at Hirakata and other, smaller stations where I’ve seen it a few times. I’ve also encountered it by random chance on a street corner in Tokyo, where a visiting American with a boom box stopped me to show off a few moves just as unique as any I’d ever seen.
(Edit: For a history of locking check out this page, and a list of moves, animated, from Japan.)
2 years ago - read more...
