Summer is a time for dancing. Across the country there are countless local matsuri (festivals) in which a regionally specific odori (dance) is the main attraction and, of course, there are the many outdoor music festivals that allow people to let loose and move.
The city of Yokohama has taken its love of dance a step further in the past six years by holding the triannual Dance, Dance, Dance@Yokohama, a multivenue extravaganza that, this year, runs from Aug. 4 to Sept. 30 and is set to feature more than 230 performers — not including the people in the crowd who get into the spirit, naturally.
"The idea is to make the whole city a stage — not just the theaters or studios but the streets of the city," says Shinji Ono, the secretary-general of the festival and a member of the Yokohama Arts Festival Executive Committee. "Yokohama has so much appeal and so many cultural sites, attracting many creative people, such as innovators and artists, over the years. We think it's important to make the most of the city's unique charm."