MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan — The International Dance Festival at Matthew C. Perry Elementary School on Tuesday afternoon featured all kinds of fancy and fleet footwork, coordinated arm and hand movements, gyrations — and a lot of smiles.
Pupils from kindergarten through sixth grade performed group dances originating in cultures around the world before an enthusiastic crowd of more than 400 family members and others who packed into the school’s gymnasium.
“The turnout for this event is incredible. We tend to have great support for events like this from our parents, community and the base command,” said principal Vicky Taylor.
“The teachers were great, with the major credit going to physical education teacher Tom Gushiken, organizer of this entire dance festival,” Taylor added while tapping her foot to the dancers’ rhythms.
“I like the dance we learned and it was fun,” said Jack Allen, 6, in the first-grade dance group. “ Also, it’s cool to do it in front of all these people.
“My mom told me to make sure I didn’t mess up,” he added. “And I didn’t.”
Jackie Allen, Jack’s mother, beamed while hugging him and telling him the dance was a job well done.
“He gets plenty of practice dancing in our household,” said Allen between intermittent big hugs. “He likes to dance around the house to salsa music, or like Ricky Martin. We love to dance.”
Despite the fun, M.C. Perry’s principal said, several educational opportunities are part of the festival.
“It takes a lot of hard work to learn the dances and, of course, they are very excited to be performing. However, dance is also part of the physical education curriculum and students learn a progression of dances through the sixth grade,” she explained.
Groups from each grade level performed dances including the following:
Akushu de Konnichiwa, with Japanese origins, performed by kindergarten pupils;Savila Se Bela Loza, a Serbian dance, first grade pupils;Alunelul, a Romanian dance, second graders;Les Saluts, a French Canadian dance, third graders;d’hammerschmiedsgselin, from German tradition, fourth graders;The Virginia Reel, an American mainstay, fifth graders’Gathering Peascods, Great Britain; and Highlife, West Africa, sixth graders (who performed twice);Tinikling, from the Philippines, performed by an after school group as the festival’s finale.“From the process, the children had the opportunity to learn about many cultures, refine social skills, develop a sense of rhythm and improve coordination, endurance and fine motor skills,” Taylor said.
“Also, because they perform in front of so many people,” she added, “they learn a great deal about confidence.”
