Hanayagi dance instructor’s recital to celebrate her lifetime achievement on the occasion of her 77th birthday

 

 

Mme. Wakana Hanayagi performed the Kiyomoto piece, Yuya at the National Theatre in Tokyo in 2005. But this piece is not included in the November 22 program. (Photo courtesy of Mme. Wakana Hanayagi)

 

Veteran dance instructor Mme. Wakana Hanayagi who recently celebrated her 77th birthday will be commemorating this milestone with a dance performance on Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009, at 3 p.m. at the James Armstrong Theatre in Torrance.

 

The program will begin with Wakana joining 10 of her students in the Nagauta piece, Oimatsu.  Wakana's two shihan (teaching credential holder), Wakaseira and Wakanana, will then perform the Kiyomoto dance Tamaya and Kane, a Yamatogaku piece respectively.

 

Following the intermission, Wakana will dance Yamamba, which is a dance of the Tokiwazu genre. This will then be followed by a short photo documentary of Wakana's history as a professional dancer.

 

Wakana will conclude the approximate 2 1/2 hour program with Sukeroku. Theater doors open at 2:30 p.m. and curtain is at 3:00 p.m.

 

Tickets are $30. Tickets are available at the James Armstrong Theatre Box Office, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance (Torrance Blvd. and madrona), (310) 781-7171.  For more information, call Pat Wada at (310) 621-1499 or e-mail wada@saatchila.com

     

Wakana Hanayagi was born in Tokyo, and started her dance training at the age of eight under the tutelage of then Grand Master of the Hanayagi-school, Jusuke Hanayagi II.

 

She grew up with talented siblings including the famous novelist, Hitomi Yamaguchi.

 

Wakana was only 20-year old when, in 1953, the Japanese Imperial Prince Takamatsu sponsored the Azuma Kabuki Dancers and Musicians in a tour that took them to seven major cities in the U.S. She also joined the second tour of the Azuma Kabuki in 1955-56 to 13 countries in Europe.

 

Wakana established herself both as a first-class performer of Japanese classical dance and also as a disciplined instructor for professional actor training in Tokyo.

 

But in 1997 when her husband, actor Jerry Ito, suffered a stroke and needed speech therapy in his native English language, they moved to Los Angeles where their two children were already living.

 

Since arriving in Los Angeles in 1998, Wakana has cultivated new talent particularly within the City of Los Angeles Regional Arts Grant program.