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In this lesson, I will show you the basics of Japanese traditional dance.
I will show you how to greet, how to sit down and stand up, and also how to handle a fan.
First I will show you how to bow.
Look straight and sit on your knees.
Place your fan on the floor about 25 cm away from your knees.
Put both hands down in front of you on the floor,
Make a shape of a triangle with your thumbs and index fingers.
Look at the person’s eyes.
Then bow.
Gradually lower your elbows and raise your hips.
Keep your back straight. Be careful not to bend it.
Then sit up.
Next I will show you how to handle a fan.
To open the fan,
push the top edge of the fan outward with your right thumb,
and pull the bottom edge inward with your left hand.
Do both actions at the same time.
When you open a fan, hold the wood part, not the paper.
Open your fan horizontally from your chest.
There are three ways to hold your fan after you open it.
First, hold the fan flat on your palm.
Second, rotate the fan with your palm remaining flat.
Third, hold your fan vertically.
To close your fan, bring the fan with your right hand to your right hip and close it with your left hand.
Next, let me show you how to put away your fan in your belt.
Hold the fan sideways with your left hand.
Pull the outmost belt with your right fingers.
Insert your fan from the bottom in the space in between, diagonally from your chest towards your bottom.
Do not insert it vertically.
Now, let me show you how to greet people on a stage.
Come out to your position and sit down.
Pull your fan out with your left hand and hold it with your right hand.
Place the fan on the floor about 25 cm away from your knees.
Bring both hands together in front of you.
Put your hands down on the floor, creating the shape of a triangle with your fingers.
Bring your nose down into the triangle.
If you use a fan for dancing, now open the fan and start dancing.
Even if you don’t use the fan for dancing, when you greet people put your fan down before you bow.
Put it back in your belt after you bow.
Let me show you how to stand up from a sitting position.
There are steps to stand up so that you don’t lose your balance.
First, raise your heels and sit on them.
Raise your right knee.
Raise your upper body straight up.
Put both legs together.
I hope you enjoyed this demonstration of the basic way to greet, handle a fan and stand up from a sitting position.