Saipan Awaodori founder and Kinpachi Restaurant president Misako Kamata, center kneeling, and the Saipan Awaodori team members pose for a photo while taking a break from practice at the Koblerville Youth Center on Monday.
THE Saipan Awaodori team will once again join Awaodori performers in Japan.
To be led by Saipan Awaodori founder and Kinpachi Restaurant president Misako Kamata, eight young Awaodori dancers from Saipan will showcase their cultural dance talents in various cities in Japan from July 14 to Aug. 25, 2024.
The Saipan Awaodori dancers include Cassidy Thompson Wabol, 20; Coddie Franco Villagomez Forbes, 18; Owen Daniel E. Quitugua, 17; Connie Mettao, 15; Vianny Mettao, 17; Marcela Heben, 16; Leon Lexon Wabol, 12; and Santo Baidya, 13.
Their first performance will be at the 13th Shirogane Awaodori Festival on July 14, 2024. They will then perform at the Uji-ie Awaodori on July 21, 2024 and the Kitamachi Awaodori Festival on July 27, 2024.
On Aug. 3, 2024, the Saipan Awaodori team will perform at the Higashi Rinkan Summer Wow Festival. After almost a week of rest, they will participate in the 64th Tokyo Koenji Awaodori Festival that will feature the Tokyo Tensuiren dancers from Aug. 30 to 31, 2024.
Kamata said the team, which has been continuously practicing, will depart Saipan on June 9, 2024. On June 30, 2024, she said the team’s drummers will return to Saipan to join other local Awaodori team members in the Liberation Day parade on July 4, 2024. They will return to Japan for the festivals there, and head back to Saipan on Aug. 27, 2024.
Connie Mettao, who was with the team in Japan six years ago, said she’s nervous because it has been a long time since she performed there. This time, she expects to learn new Awaodori skills.
Santo Baidya, who will be going to the festivals in Japan for the first time, said she is excited to dance with the Tokyo Tensuiren at the Koenji Awaodori Festival.
Leon Wabol, who performed in Japan last year, is excited but nervous at the same time because some of his friends will not be there with him this time.
Also joining the Awaodori team this year are Hideaki Sawada and Yoshiko Toyokawa.
