The preparation for the Obake(お化け) event: Part 2

As for the Sanbaso costume, we started looking for one  on the Internet.
Furthermore my geisha sister called a rental kimono and traditional Japanese costume shop.
However it was a little expensive.

So while I was waiting for the starting time of an ozashiki party at the okiya, I looked up some other shops online and made some inquiries.
Finally I found a well priced shop with a kind owner which is located in Nagoya.

We also started to practice dancing the Ayatsuri-sanbaso and the Matsuken-samba.
We didn’t want to spend a lot of money for the event, so we didn’t receive lessons from a professional teacher and just practiced by watching and following some Youtube videos.

We used some of the choreography which we found on Youtube.
However since the length of each group’s performance would be 5 minutes or less, we created our original dance.
After choreographing our dance, I edited the music CD which we would use to accompany the dance.

Meanwhile in between our practice sessions for the dance, we went to a shop in order to buy some cheap props which we needed for our performance.
We also used some corrugated cardboard which was going to be thrown away as refuse.

I felt very comfortable with the preparation of the event, because my geisha sister is very flexible and easy to work with.
For example; if we had decided a time to practice our dance, but we suddenly thought of a good idea for some props for our performance, we simply changed our schedule and created the props instead.
If she wasn’t such a flexible person, I would have become impatient with the slowness of the preparation process for the event.
I remember that I also felt comfortable preparing for last year’s event and able to enjoy the entire preparation process.
I think that my oldest geisha sister, who I paired up with last year, is also a flexible person.

Last year, each group prepared many bags of candy for the customers.
However at the meeting for this year’s event, we decided to give candy only to the customers who wear fancy-dress.
I hope many customers will come the venues wearing interesting costumes.

Until now, my geisha sister and I have had several practice sessions together.
However my poor dance skill was a big problem.

I will play the part of the Koken, who will suddenly start dancing the Matsuken-samba in a comical way.
For me the samba step is very difficult.

Even though another geisha sister, who used to be a professional dancer, had taught me how to dance the samba, I still can’t do it well so I need more practice.

As for the Ayatsuri-sanbaso’s dance, my geisha sister choreographed it by herself.
I feel that a person who has a good dance skill, is able to dance any song well even if it is their first time to dance a song.
My partner last year was as good a dancer as this year’s partner.

This year’s Obake event will be held on February 23rd and 24th.
So, we don’t have enough time to practice.
Nevertheless I want the customers to enjoy the Obake event and our performance.