(EN) "Japan Culture day" in Antwerp with my shinobue class

Last Saturday I participated in Japan Day in Antwerp, organized jointly by the NHK Culture Center (Japan) and the City of Antwerp, together with my shinobue class.

It was actually the first external performance of the Brussels Shinobue class.

Students from my classes in Brussels and Paris joined the performance, and we were also joined by Tsuna Taiko from Paris and their Awa Odori students, which created a very lively atmosphere.

When I entered the hall during the opening ceremony, I noticed that an orchestra version of “Chidori no Kyoku” was playing.Perhaps it is almost as famous as Haru no Umi? If so, maybe I should work more on spreading this piece as well.

Our performance began with the cheerful Donpan-bushi, followed by Aizu Gensokyoku, a gentle shinobue duet that I performed with one of my students.We finished with Awa Odori with the Tsuna group.

Don pan bushi

During Donpan-bushi I usually invite the audience to sing the refrain together with us.I had planned to explain this before starting… but somehow I simply began playing.

Perhaps I am too used to the concert format, or when there are many things to think about, I forget!

When the refrain arrived I suddenly thought:“Wait… why isn’t anyone singing?”

And then I realized — I had forgotten to explain.

I wanted to say “Please join us!” but because I am used to speaking French on stage, the words that naturally came to mind were French.At the same time, speaking French in Antwerp felt a little awkward… and suddenly I couldn’t find the words in English or even Japanese either.

So in the end I simply invited the audience to clap along.

Language situations in a country can influence what happens on stage too.

But during the Awa Odori at the end, the audience joined the atmosphere and everything worked out perfectly.

It was also the first time since 2009 that I performed a shinobue duet in a public concert (outside of student recitals).At that time I played with my flute teacher Kohei Nishikawa in Brussels.

Duo avec mon élève

There are actually many beautiful pieces for two shinobue, but since I cannot split myself into two people, opportunities to play them are rare.

So it was really a pleasure to perform this duet with a student.The microphones had a strong echo effect, which made the sound surprisingly… quite dreamy.

After the event I received many “merci” messages from participants.If I was able to give them a joyful moment like that, I’m very happy.

One of the Awa Odori students even took photos at the beautiful Antwerp station while still wearing her headband — perhaps proof that she had a wonderful time.

Dance Awa avec Tsunagari Taiko

Lessons are not only about learning technique.They are also about creating experiences and memories. Organizing events like this takes time, and I also have my own performing activities, so in recent years it has not always been easy to organize events for my students.

But when I see them enjoying themselves like this, it reminds me how important it is to create opportunities beyond simply “taking lessons.”

My classes are not large, and I cannot organize large-scale events — but I would still like to continue nurturing them with care.

To be continued…