Natsu Mayumi's blog - About 'SoreSuno'.

Oct 01, 2022 13:10

Dancer/choreographer Natsu Mayumi shares her thoughts on being a judge for the 2022.09.13 'Dance Showdown' episode of 'Sore Snow Man ni Yarasete Kudasai'.
Original blog entry here.

- - - - - - - - -


Posted on 2022.09.17 by fun-key natsu (Natsu Mayumi)

There’s a lot to be thankful for, but let me start with this.

Thank you very much for all the positive feedback from watching the ‘Sore Snow Man ni Yarasete Kudasai 1 Hour Special’ on TBS the other day.

Man, what a wonderful show!

(^.^)…
It may seem strange coming from me, but really, as we judges had to remain concealed from the performers right until our appearance on the show that day, we had to be cooped up in a dressing room (classroom) without easy access to a toilet the whole time (lol)

Consequently, that meant that we went out there completely unaware of how much effort the performers had put in or what drama had ensued in the run-up to the day, so in a sense, we were able to watch, observe, and assess the performances in an unbiased manner.

Amongst the many comments from the viewers, there were a lot of questions such as ‘what do you look at⁉︎’, ‘what is dance?’, ‘what did you do to prepare for the judging?’, ‘what prior TV experience do you have?’, and so on, so I figured I’d talk about a few things here.

That said, I’m going to be talking about dance, which is very important to me. I want to be completely without pretenses here. Also, as I inevitably speak from 42 years of dance and 40 years of dance instructor experience here, some of my comments may sound supercilious. I apologise in advance for that m(_ _)m

Unlike during the dance boom of 40 years ago, dance culture has finally taken root in Japan and the number of shows featuring dance, dance contests, ‘Japan’s Best Dancers’ and so on have increased dramatically.

I’ve advocated for over 20 years (and here I’m going to self-advertise a bit, haha) that ‘dance is breathing’ and lived life by the ‘Million Dancer Plan’, and to me, this show was truly amongst the best dance battles created by television ever.

During the course of the battle, it truly conveyed the power and magnificence of dance, and I am truly glad that I got to take part in a show that I’m doubtless that many viewers were moved by. Thank you very much.

There was not the slightest suggestion that the show had rigged the contest, either.

Now, I’m finally going to get down to the dancing and the judging.

Going all out is a truly beautiful thing
Recklessness really touches the heart
Desperation evokes emotion in those who witness it

These are things that will win people’s hearts - even their souls - more than anything.

These are things that the Yamamura Kokusai team, the Entertainers team and the Snow Man team all possessed. Not only possessed, but expressed it as their power, their energy. Furthermore, it wasn’t just the teams, but every individual, every single person in each 9-member team was going all out, was reckless, was desperate. Naturally all of us who witnessed it was touched and moved to tears. It was truly something wonderful!

However, we can’t judge based on that power or passion alone. After all, if we did, all three teams would score 100!!

We had what you call ‘judging criteria’. As they depicted in the show, the five criteria were: Visuals (including the presentation, their facial expressions, outfits and so on); Composition (what you might call the balance and formations); Entertainment (the direction and showmanship); Technique (their craft and skills); and Specialty (the only section where judges can put in their personal emotions). Each of these were scored out of 20 points for a total of 100 points.

[picture of a large TV monitor showing a row of four judges seated at individual desks, three of whom are holding up placards with scores written on them]

Although there was some variation on how the four judges scored the teams, virtually everyone gave scores of 90 or above, with the Snow Man team coming in first place. We judges did not consult with each other, so there was no hint of influence or bias.

Naturally, I did feel like, σ(^_^;) ‘What about the other judges?’ ‘How many points is SAM awarding them⁉︎’ (lol) As mentioned earlier, every team had the passion to move people and there were a wide range of comments from the viewers.

[picture showing the four judges: (R-L) KAORIalive, SAM of TRF, Natsu Mayumi, and KENSAKU]

As for why I awarded the Snow Man team a higher score than the other teams…
If you don’t mind, I’ll be giving some of my personal views from here on…

Here, I evaluated Snow Man based on 5 (further!) criteria:
  1. Refined physical preparation
  2. How they worked and matched the atmosphere
The above definitely fall under the ‘skill’ category.

  1. An enjoyable performance with no hint of suffering
  2. Making the choreography their own (this is only possible with a good choreographer)
  3. ‘Effortlessness’!!

Allow me to explain each one.

Naturally, in dance, it all comes down to the importance of physical preparation and the fundamentals… You might say it’s similar to tests in your school days… At the end of the day, last-minute cramming doesn’t help.

You use your whole body in dance.

A body that has been trained on a regular basis = a body with joints that have an extra range of motion (one might say flexibility, etc) and muscular strength (supple muscles necessary for dancing), and a body that possesses that will naturally move differently to the rhythm. That is unfortunately unavoidable.

If you’re an experienced dancer, you would know that ‘arms extend from the shoulder blades, not the shoulders’, ‘legs extend from the waist, not your bottom’, and that you ‘use your armpits, not your arms’.

For example, pay attention to Sakuma (Daisuke)-kun. He dances using his whole body. His foundations appear to be solidly built. In terms of street (dance)-style movements, Iwamoto (Hikaru)-kun effectively uses the contractions and release of his muscles (sometimes known as ‘popping’). As these two demonstrate, the Snow Man members are very physically suited for dancing.

As far as Johnnys are concerned, I worked with KinKi Kids (practically before they debuted) and V6 (since they were Juniors) and other Johnnys Juniors for… about two years⁉︎ In terms of dance, all of them were expressive and individualistic, and their power and aura were just as good as I’d expected.

What surprised me when I saw Snow Man (who are also Johnnys) dancing this time was that even if their gestures (the finer hand movements) were slightly out of sync, their vibes were fully in sync.

In dance scenes, moving in unison is sometimes used to forcefully push that energy forward. You might say they did that in the A-melody and B-melody parts.

And above all,
The way they were clearly enjoying themselves far more than anyone else as they danced just brought joy to anyone watching them. They weren’t showing you the result of how much effort they put in, but rather, you had the wonderful experience of their joy from all the effort they had put in.

Ah, one more thing! That would be… ‘effortlessness’!!
Simply put, you could say they are ‘relaxed’… Of course dancers aren’t at ease while they’re dancing with all their might, but it’s about giving the viewer the impression that they’re at ease. It’s often said that it’s about the modulation of the tempo of one’s movements, and it’s sometimes described as being ‘moderately relaxed’, but it’s actually incredibly, incredibly difficult to achieve.

Skill, technique, and the so-called craft - shall we say, the big flashy moves? Like acrobatic moves and break-dance power moves, or the Ultra C in gymnastics, or the triple Axel in figure skating, and of course in ballet and jazz dance, there’s how many revolutions you turn in a pirouette or the height of a grand jeté or how long you can keep your balance and so on. To me, you need a considerable amount of skill to maintain that ‘effortlessness’.

This is what I look whenever I serve as a judge, and what I tell all the idols and artistes that I have worked with.

Phew! ٩( ᐛ )و That was a long one.
Thank you for reading all the way to the end.

As usual, please feel free to comment below, and if you have any serious questions about dance, I’ll endeavour to give a thorough answer.

[picture depicting a cameraman taking a group photo of the four judges, the MC, the Yamamura Kokusai High School students and dance team, the ‘Ultimate Dancers’ Entertainers team, and the Snow Man team]

A huge thank you to all performers and co-stars for the wonderful dances, and that raw tension you brought onstage because you care so deeply about it.

I would like to thank all the staff involved in producing this show for all their hard work.
Thank you for a wonderful dance show.

Natsu Mayumi

-translations, **snowman, -subs: soresuno

Previous post Next post
Up