Japanese Men's Rhythmic Gymnastics

[sweetwater]

Thanks, @vcq17 and everyone for sharing interesting performances!
I'm Japanese but I did not know much about this sport and these athletes...

Maybe vcq17 is Ted for Japanese MRG.

This August, I came across a few videos of performances by high school teams and thought of this thread.

One of them is a performance by  Aomori-Yamada this year

According to this article, like in figure skating, it is getting more and more difficult for fans to film and share performances in MRG competitions even though some of the MRG videos are attracting viewers and contributing to drawing new fans, so this year, Team Aomori-Yamada filmed their own performances before a big competition and shared it.

 

Another one is a performance by Natori High

I was intrigued by this video since they were from Natori, Miyagi and were using AKIRA ost. They are probably not one of the strongest teams, but I enjoyed their performance a lot. According to this article, their gymnasium doesn't have a mat to practice tumbling, so they are always trying to make a program that can impress the audience even without the most difficult tricks. They are also aiming to deliver performances that can be enjoyed by people with hearing difficulties. They are saying "Thank you for watching until the end. That's all." at the end incorporating sign language in their choreography.

[sweetwater]

Reviving this thread inspired by a post in Random Thought Theater because men's RG is cool!

 

On 9/7/2019 at 12:40 AM, sweetwater said:

Another one is a performance by Natori High

I was intrigued by this video since they were from Natori, Miyagi and were using AKIRA ost. They are probably not one of the strongest teams, but I enjoyed their performance a lot. According to this article, their gymnasium doesn't have a mat to practice tumbling, so they are always trying to make a program that can impress the audience even without the most difficult tricks. They are also aiming to deliver performances that can be enjoyed by people with hearing difficulties. They are saying "Thank you for watching until the end. That's all." at the end incorporating sign language in their choreography.

 

I found a video of the complete version of this program + backstage and promotional video with cool close-up shots.

 

This one also isn't new but a very emotional performance by Yuhei Ishikawa in 2018. I can imagine Yuzu performing a bit like this if he was a rhythmic gymnast.

 

[Fay]

@sweetwaterthank you! I found this gem - it’s a piece of art! I wonder if the film is available in its entirety

 

[sweetwater]

On 8/5/2021 at 3:44 AM, Fay said:

@sweetwaterthank you! I found this gem - it’s a piece of art! I wonder if the film is available in its entirety

 

 

Thank you for sharing! It is truly a gem! Their performance itself is beautiful, and the composition and the direction of this program are also really nice. They use the cloths and the projection mapping only when it was absolutely necessary and I love that. I find this program refreshing and revitalizing, especially watched in the middle of the heat and humidity here. 

 

I searched in Japanese to see if I could find the video of the entire performance and found that there is a documentary film of this project titled "FLYING BODIES." (Actually, it had already been shared by SparkleSalad and vcq earlier in this thread )

http://flyingbodies.jp/

 

According to @vcq17, a DVD of this film is available, and the entire performance is one of its contents, although its trailer focuses on its backstage. 

https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00QUUXA9W

The film seems to be available on the iTunes store, too, where you can also rent it (though I am not sure that you can watch the bonus content that is available on DVD.) 

https://itunes.apple.com/jp/movie/flying-bodies/id1001860242

I am thinking about trying renting it on iTunes.

ETA: I watched this film on iTunes. It lasted for 78 minutes, and the last 40-42 minutes of it captured the entire exhibition, which was even more beautiful than the highlights. Unfortunately, there weren't English subtitles for the documentary part, but I guess you can guess what is happening and enjoy finding what they were practicing in the actual exhibition.

 

Following is a rough summary of the background of this project/program based on articles I came across while searching. It is not about MRG, and I think it is also fun to watch this kind of art without much explanation beforehand, so I put it in a spoiler.

Spoiler

As the title of the video says, this project was about Aomori University Men's Rhythmic Gymnastics Club, presented by Issei Miyake. At first, I thought this might have been an Issei Miyake's Spring-Summer collection featuring the gymnasts as models, but on the contrary, the gymnasts were the center of this project. The designer accidentally saw their performance on TV and started this project to share the beauty of the gymnasts who were devoting themselves to convey the beauty of the sport, hoping that would cast a light for the next generation.

 

The program was directed and choreographed by Daniel Ezralow, who had collaborated with Issei Miyake many times. (He worked for the opening ceremony of Sochi2014 next year, by the way) In making this program, he was inspired by team Miyake, the Aomori Univ. MRG Club, and the venue, Yoyogi Second National Gymnasium. Seeing the round-shaped floor and the rhythmic gymnastic mat, he thought of an island surrounded by the ocean. He associated the image to Japan and Aomori as Aomori means "blue forest."

 

He also found a connection between this project and Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami that happened two years before. I will quote his comment:

"I feel that this exhibition is related to the tsunami somewhere. Although this is not a project to donate large sums of money directly, I have not forgotten there was a tragic earthquake and tsunami in Tohoku a few years ago. A natural phenomenon took away people's lives. There was a men's rhythmic gymnastics team based in such a place in Tohoku, and Mr. Miyake wanted to promote this team, and he made me an offer. I believe that there is an abstract connection between the beautiful nature of Tohoku, the cruelty of nature reminded by the tsunami, and the existence of human beings who express themselves as athletes. In this project, I felt a positive energy. I am very honored and happy to have the chance to be a part of it."

 

The original exhibition seems to have lasted about an hour, and it had 15 segments as follows:

 

1 BIG BLUE --The memories of water--

2 IWAEBIEVOMAN --Rocks, shrimps, evolution, human

3 FLYING BODIES I

4 SCHOOL OF FISH

5 THE AVENGERS

6 SEASHORE

7 FLYING BODIES II

8 GAMBA (T/n: abbreviation of "gambatte" "gambare." This part features how they cheer for each other)

9 STICK MAN

10 DOLPHINS

11 ROPE MAN

12 BIG ROPE

13 UNDERWATER

14 SOARING SPIRITS

15 STILL WATER

 

These segments tell the story of lives take form in water and evolve into human beings who wear clothes. In the end, they let go of everything but their strong spirits remain.

 

Reference:

【密着取材・前編】三宅一生と公演『青森大学男子新体操部』はどうやって作られたのか？

https://www.fashionsnap.com/article/aomori-gymnastics-isseymiyake01/

【密着取材・後編】三宅一生と公演『青森大学男子新体操部』はどうやって作られたのか？（動画）

https://www.fashionsnap.com/article/aomori-gymnastics-isseymiyake02/

 

[sweetwater]

The performances from men's rhythmic gymnastic event in Inter-High School Sports Festival this year can be watched on the following website (though you may need VPN)

https://inhightv.sportsbull.jp/archive?id=6920

*Select performance and click on the red "公開中" button displayed to the right of the school name, then the performance will be played above the list of performances.