How to Learn Traditional Japanese Fan Dancing

The route for how to learn traditional Japanese fan dancing is perhaps not as obvious as the route to learning classical ballet or tap dance in America. While the Japanese fan dance is well-established in Asia and around the world, finding lessons for it in most American cities is a daunting task.

For this reason, you might be interested in learning this cultural dance of Asia on your own. While classes to learn the dance are sparse, videos of fan dances, both online and in movies, are quite numerous. If you are determined to learn the Japanese fan dance, not having a class in your local area shouldn't stop you from learning the dance and enjoying it yourself.

Many Asian cultures have fan dances; for example, there are fan dances in traditional Chinese dance, as well as Korean fan dances. While each country has their own style of the fan dance, the Asian fan dances are more similar to one another than they are similar to the American version of fan dancing.

American fan dancing originated in the 1930s as a performance dance. Think of Vegas dancers, with the large feathered headdresses and arm accessories; this is 'fan dancing' in the American tradition. In stark contrast are the Asian fan dances, which are all done with handheld, usually paper, fans and have the goal of expressing beauty instead of having the goal of entertaining an audience. The fan dance videos below can provide a good picture of the subtlety and gentle grace involved in Japanese fan dancing:

• Authentic Fan Dance: Haunting music and artistic lighting further enhance the effect of this beautiful dance
• Japanese Fan Dance Performance: One lady performing a traditional fan dance in traditional kimono costume
• Group Japanese Fan Dance: A group of Japanese fan dancers perform an intricate dance

Of course, you'll need to learn some of the steps to Japanese traditional dances in order to combine them with the art of fan dancing. Generally speaking, learning these dance steps is easier than learning tap dance or classical ballet technique. A few reasons why the fan dancing steps are easier to master is that they are slower, more repetitive, and allow for plenty of improvisation room. Since fan dances are often performed by one person (instead of a group of dancers), practicing the choreography endlessly is unnecessary. As long as you know the basics, you can improvise at a moment when you forget if you were going to make a circle to the right or to the left at that moment.

Watching the videos above is a great way to start learning fan dancing. In addition, you'll want to get a paper fan to practice with. In choosing a fan, look for the following properties:

• The fan can 'latch' open, but doesn't have to be clipped open; this ensures that the fan will stay open when you want it to, but that you'll be able to close it without releasing any sort of latch
• The weight of the paper should be quite substantial, you shouldn't be able to bend it easily; this ensures that you are always showing a fan to your audience and not a half-fan that's bent over backwards
• The weight of the wood on which the fan is mounted should be substantial. The two pieces of wood that form a 180 degree angle when the fan is open should be quite heavy. This allows for a good grip, and it also allows for easy fan tossing; weighting the bottom means that when you toss it, you have a much better chance of catching it on the right side (the bottom) than grabbing it by the paper because the more heavily weighted side will have a tendency to lead the rest of the fan on its downward spiral.

Ideally, how to learn traditional Japanese fan dancing would be to take a course with a master teacher. These are few and far between; however, if you'd really like to learn the art from an experienced instructor, a few options exist:

• WAK Japan: In Kyoto, Japan, private fan dancing lessons for those wishing to experience a bit more of Japanese culture
• Kabuki Academy: Japanese dancing lessons in Tacoma, Washington

What better way to learn Japanese dance than to actually learn it in Japan? Of course, it'll cost you a great deal of money, but if you're interested in going to Japan to see the country and experience the culture, why not have a dance lesson too?

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