2020.02.16 Arata's analysis of Ohno's 'Akatsuki'
Someone asked if I planned to do more summaries of Arata's analyses of Ohno's dancing.
...Apparently the answer is 'yes' :)
※ This is a summary, not a word-for-word translation.
※ Here's Arata's 'Akatsuki' analysis video
By popular request, Arata (of 'Arata Dance School' on YouTube) analysed Ohno's dancing in 'Akatsuki' from the Japonism concert (2015).
He starts off saying that he hasn't watched a DVD in ages - ever since the time he back-danced for Kanjani8 (their 'Gamushara Koushinkyoku' performance on Music Station [probably 2014.12.05]). His mother's friend, a huge Kanjani8 fan, recorded the performance and gave him a copy along with a Kanjani8 DVD.
Once Arata finally wrestles the Japonism DVD open and finds the right chapter, he spends some time just reacting as he watches Ohno's performance for the first time - "How-?!" "Mysterious!" "There's actually 2 of them!" "He's good at singing!"
"It's ridiculously interesting!" he exclaims. "How he switches and all. Y'know how there's, like, multiple Ohnos? There's probably about five people involved there."
Arata explains that Ohno's hand gestures are reminiscent of martial arts kata. Such forms and silhouettes are helpful to dancers, as dance tends to borrow from many genres of art.
If the moves aren't influenced by a martial art like karate, then it might be from traditional dance. He refers to the sort performed at festivals - more stiff and formal, not for fighting but showing the beauty of the kata.
Since the concept of the Japonism concert is Japanese traditions, that's more likely to be it. "It's great for future reference," he surmises. The way they use umbrellas and their outfits is really first-class.
"Y'know how they tread step by step? When the dancers move forward, it's usually heel first."
But Ohno goes toe-first; his centre of gravity placed slightly forward. Arata explains there are four types where balance/weight transfer in dance is concerned - the centre of gravity shifted either to the front, back, inner or outer side of the foot.
From the way he executes his footwork, Arata thinks the inner arches of Ohno's feet must be pretty strong. It's easiest to tell if they remove their shoes (though he's never seen Ohno dance barefoot, so he doesn't know).
Ohno's hands and arms aren't fully outstretched, they're always slightly bent, which shows attention to detail.
Arata mentions that he personally really likes the pose with the arms held up.
As Ohno steps forward, he moves with what Arata describes as a 'vuun-haa, vuun-haa' rhythm. On the 'haa' beat, Ohno's heel connects with the ground first, then the rest of his foot follows at a measured pace.
Arata notes that Ohno's shoe soles look pretty thick; that would make it harder to control how he distributes his weight. (Sneakers are easiest to dance in.) Arata thinks Ohno's shoes look like they're stiffer compared to the back-dancers' shoes.
Rather than dancing fluidly, Ohno's movements seem more deliberate & measured, as if he's constantly exerting about 40% of his strength.
"The way he pushes his hands out as he sings, man!"
"And how he does that hand thing, such fine detail!"
Arata points out how Ohno lowers his foot quickly, but slows down the moment his toes make contact. His shoulders weave up & down with the rhythm; the main point is the groove of his shoulders, not the movements of his hands.
Ohno also does tutting - a street dance style based on angular hand movements - which, Arata notes, looks especially cool if you can perform it without looking at your hands.
He compares it to the manga 'Hyouge-mono', where the feudal-era protagonist is obsessed with tea ceremony and arts. "Doing such microscopically-detailed choreography shows he's a highly-skilled monster of a dancer! It's amazing how it feels so fixed."
Moving on from that, Ohno does a shoulder movement which involves isolating parts of the chest, tensing muscles and making slight, jerky movements to create an effect that looks like stop-motion animation or movement under strobe lights (called 'strobing', which is a variation of animation dance). Doing that accentuates the distorted feel.
Meanwhile, Ohno's feet are gliding fluidly beneath him, like he's floating (with a technique called 'sidewalking' - think Michael Jackson).
The dissonance between his upper and lower body makes it look magical - unlike making mechanical movements while firmly planted on the ground, he's both mechanically turning and fluidly floating.
Finally Ohno glides into place, turns and lifts his arm, strobing slightly, then reaches out -
"That's like a tea ceremony ending with Sen no Rikyu (most influential historical figure in Japanese tea ceremony) serving the highest-level tea!"
Arata thinks that Ohno must really love Michael Jackson's dancing. Many dancers around the world respect the legendary King of Pop, but arguably none have yet to take his place. Very few dancers in Japan come close. Arata thinks that like the highly skilled dancer and artist Miura Daichi, Ohno too has those vibes.
Personally, Arata adds, the body-switching tricks in the first half also left an impression on him - "You're a ninja, aren't you, Ohno-san?"
...Apparently the answer is 'yes' :)
※ This is a summary, not a word-for-word translation.
※ Here's Arata's 'Akatsuki' analysis video
By popular request, Arata (of 'Arata Dance School' on YouTube) analysed Ohno's dancing in 'Akatsuki' from the Japonism concert (2015).
He starts off saying that he hasn't watched a DVD in ages - ever since the time he back-danced for Kanjani8 (their 'Gamushara Koushinkyoku' performance on Music Station [probably 2014.12.05]). His mother's friend, a huge Kanjani8 fan, recorded the performance and gave him a copy along with a Kanjani8 DVD.
Once Arata finally wrestles the Japonism DVD open and finds the right chapter, he spends some time just reacting as he watches Ohno's performance for the first time - "How-?!" "Mysterious!" "There's actually 2 of them!" "He's good at singing!"
"It's ridiculously interesting!" he exclaims. "How he switches and all. Y'know how there's, like, multiple Ohnos? There's probably about five people involved there."
Arata explains that Ohno's hand gestures are reminiscent of martial arts kata. Such forms and silhouettes are helpful to dancers, as dance tends to borrow from many genres of art.
If the moves aren't influenced by a martial art like karate, then it might be from traditional dance. He refers to the sort performed at festivals - more stiff and formal, not for fighting but showing the beauty of the kata.
Since the concept of the Japonism concert is Japanese traditions, that's more likely to be it. "It's great for future reference," he surmises. The way they use umbrellas and their outfits is really first-class.
"Y'know how they tread step by step? When the dancers move forward, it's usually heel first."
But Ohno goes toe-first; his centre of gravity placed slightly forward. Arata explains there are four types where balance/weight transfer in dance is concerned - the centre of gravity shifted either to the front, back, inner or outer side of the foot.
From the way he executes his footwork, Arata thinks the inner arches of Ohno's feet must be pretty strong. It's easiest to tell if they remove their shoes (though he's never seen Ohno dance barefoot, so he doesn't know).
Ohno's hands and arms aren't fully outstretched, they're always slightly bent, which shows attention to detail.
Arata mentions that he personally really likes the pose with the arms held up.
As Ohno steps forward, he moves with what Arata describes as a 'vuun-haa, vuun-haa' rhythm. On the 'haa' beat, Ohno's heel connects with the ground first, then the rest of his foot follows at a measured pace.
Arata notes that Ohno's shoe soles look pretty thick; that would make it harder to control how he distributes his weight. (Sneakers are easiest to dance in.) Arata thinks Ohno's shoes look like they're stiffer compared to the back-dancers' shoes.
Rather than dancing fluidly, Ohno's movements seem more deliberate & measured, as if he's constantly exerting about 40% of his strength.
"The way he pushes his hands out as he sings, man!"
"And how he does that hand thing, such fine detail!"
Arata points out how Ohno lowers his foot quickly, but slows down the moment his toes make contact. His shoulders weave up & down with the rhythm; the main point is the groove of his shoulders, not the movements of his hands.
Ohno also does tutting - a street dance style based on angular hand movements - which, Arata notes, looks especially cool if you can perform it without looking at your hands.
He compares it to the manga 'Hyouge-mono', where the feudal-era protagonist is obsessed with tea ceremony and arts. "Doing such microscopically-detailed choreography shows he's a highly-skilled monster of a dancer! It's amazing how it feels so fixed."
Moving on from that, Ohno does a shoulder movement which involves isolating parts of the chest, tensing muscles and making slight, jerky movements to create an effect that looks like stop-motion animation or movement under strobe lights (called 'strobing', which is a variation of animation dance). Doing that accentuates the distorted feel.
Meanwhile, Ohno's feet are gliding fluidly beneath him, like he's floating (with a technique called 'sidewalking' - think Michael Jackson).
The dissonance between his upper and lower body makes it look magical - unlike making mechanical movements while firmly planted on the ground, he's both mechanically turning and fluidly floating.
Finally Ohno glides into place, turns and lifts his arm, strobing slightly, then reaches out -
"That's like a tea ceremony ending with Sen no Rikyu (most influential historical figure in Japanese tea ceremony) serving the highest-level tea!"
Arata thinks that Ohno must really love Michael Jackson's dancing. Many dancers around the world respect the legendary King of Pop, but arguably none have yet to take his place. Very few dancers in Japan come close. Arata thinks that like the highly skilled dancer and artist Miura Daichi, Ohno too has those vibes.
Personally, Arata adds, the body-switching tricks in the first half also left an impression on him - "You're a ninja, aren't you, Ohno-san?"