From Flamenco to Kabuki

I’m back in Spain and somewhat sad to be so. My visit to Japan was marvelous, and it ended too soon. I didn’t have much time to see flamenco because, as was to be expected, I was busy soaking up the native culture. However, I was able to visit the El Flamenco tablao in Tokyo, where I met and interviewed the young flamenco dancer Jesús Herrera. I also had the pleasure of visiting an advanced dance class at Flamenco Studio Mayor and interview its founder, dancer and teacher Masumi Suzuki, known as “Mami.”

I will share all of these experiences with you in the upcoming days. Today I want to talk about the traditional Japanese art form kabuki. I was lucky enough to see two kabuki shows in the historic, working class Tokyo neighborhood of Asakusa. Kabuki is a combination of theatre, music and dance. It is a performing art that relies heavily on gorgeous make-up, hair styles, costumes and sets that are elegant and rich in color and texture. Even if the spectator doesn’t speak Japanese, the movement and the facial expressions are so dramatic that it is relatively easy to understand what is happening.

In the article about flamenco in Japan that was published in Dance Magazine, the dancer Mayumi Kagita says "Traditional Kabuki tales and flamenco lyrics have common themes: love, life, and death. But using flamenco allowed us to communicate emotions more directly than with reserved Japanese dance."

Finding similarities between flamenco and kabuki is somewhat difficult, as they are such completely different art forms, but thematic similarities aside (love, life and death are common themes in the traditional performing arts of many countries), what most reminded me of flamenco while watching kabuki for the first time was the delicate and expressive movement of the arms and hands and the strikingly dramatic poses and movements. And much like the Spanish flamenco dynasties, kabuki is also a family business, with families passing the music and dance down from one generation of artists to the next.

Yet comparing these arts is of little importance, as they can each be appreciated for far more than what they have in common. Japanese tourists that visit Spain must see authentic flamenco, just as any Spaniards who visit Japan shouldn’t miss the opportunity to see an excellent kabuki performance.

-Justine Bayod Espoz

Photo by Jay.Shankar on Flickr