Students of the Study Program of Japanese Literature and Study Program of Japanese Language Education Faculty of Cultural Studies (FCS) Universitas Brawijaya (UB) participated in a music video of the Yosakoi dance project entitled ‘GO!’. Yosakoi dance is a traditional dance of Kochi, Japan.
This year, the local government of Kochi chose the ambassador of Yosakoi dance, Kizuna International Team, in which members came from 18 countries to create the Yosakoi dance music video. The leader of the Kizuna International Team then contacted several Yosakoi communities, one of them was Badai Yosakoi of FCS UB which is a Japanese dance community founded in 2008. Thus, some of the members of the community decided to participate in the project.
In the previous years, the Yosakoi dance project was conducted in a form of a festival that was held along the roads of the Kochi area. However, due to the pandemic situation, they are forced to switch to a virtual celebration in a form of a music video. During the preparation stage, all participants were given choreography and asked to record them dancing. They were given three months to prepare.
The FCS students who participated in the project were Adhe Putri N, Chandra Trisnadi, Alandra Anas Athallah, Oktiva Qusnia Anggraeni, Ilham Zhulfikar, and Anisatul Afifah. Anisatul, one of the members of Badai Yosakoi, said that the community has participated in several Japan-themed events before. She believed that a Yosakoi dance unique characteristics lie in the use of percussion by every dancer, and the simple choreography.
The music video shows the spirit of unity from all participants despite the distance and their different nationalities. The project also aimed to spread positive energy for its viewers.
You can watch The ‘GO!’ music video on Furachina Rhythm’s youtube channel through https://youtu.be/uxETNyudLvI. [DTS]
