01x02 - Dansu-bu no Danjohi

[bunniefuu]

[Kabo] In 2012, dance became a compulsory

subject in junior high schools.

It started being highlighted

way more on TV and online.

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There are more than 2,000 junior

and high school dance clubs,

with more than 60,000 members.

The thing is, the balance

of boys to girls is five to 95.

[dancers] Huh?

[groans]

WANDANCE

[pop music playing]

[Wanda] Kaboku.

[dancer 1] I love dance.

I really wanna meet…

[Kabo] W-Wanda.

The first years

are watching from over here.

At Ichirin High, students are trying out

which clubs they wanna join.

[Wanda] They're just getting stuff ready,

then it'll start.

[Kabo] O-Oh, right…

In Ichirin High dance club,

there are ten third-year girls.

Fourteen second-year girls.

The club president is a third year,

On Miyao.

T-There are zero guys.

Hey, are you two

from the same junior school?

-[Kabo] N-No…

-Okay, then!

Let's start with the usual stretches.

[dancer 2]

The front row is for third years,

and the juniors are in the back

so they can follow them.

-Place your right leg over your left…

-[Kabo] G-Got it.

[dancer 2] First we stretch,

then move to isolation exercises.

I-Isolation?

Look. It's when you practice

just moving one body part.

Like just the neck.

Or just the chest.

Or the hips.

That's the club president, On.

I wanted to try dancing after I saw her

dancing at the club showcase.

She's such a cute dancer.

Oh, she looked this way!

If you can dance, come and join in!

[dancers] Okay.

-[dancer 3] What do we do?

-[dancer 4] Should we try?

[dancer 3] I'm nervous.

This is my first day…

[Wanda] Um…

[On] Huh…

Can I dance too?

[On exclaims]

Yeah. Have you danced before?

It's pretty much freestyle,

though it's mostly LA Style Hip-Hop.

Can we dance too?

Go for it. It's fun!

[Kabo groans, sighs]

You gonna try?

O-Okay.

Mm-hmm.

[dancer] First years in the back.

There's a second-year guy in the club too.

[Kabo] N-Nice.

He barely ever shows up though.

I-Is it okay if guys join too?

[On chuckles]

Anyone is welcome.

As long as they like dancing, that is.

Let's start with rhythm training.

Copy me and bounce up and down.

Keep your knees soft.

Listen carefully to the music.

To the music?

Bounce up and down.

But am I doing it right?

Something feels off.

How come everyone's so good?

[music continues, muffled]

Oh, man.

The voices…

around me are…

I'm the only one who totally sucks.

[heartbeat thumping rapidly]

That's it! Just like that, keep it up!

[music continues normally]

Yeah, very good.

Try and do it as if you're drawing

your chest and belly button in.

Yep, nice. Try pointing your knees

and toes in the same direction.

Got it.

She's giving individual advice

to everyone…

Wanda's next.

She skipped her?

[groans]

Do I… look weird?

Huh? [grunts]

[On chuckles]

You gotta relax. Don't worry so much

about how it looks yet.

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Why was Wanda the only one

she didn't say anything to?

[Wanda] There you are, Kaboku.

W-Wanda.

I-I-I got kinda tired.

I know what you mean.

It works the muscles

you never usually use, right?

[sighs]

Hmm?

[Kabo gasps, breathes shakily]

I think I'm gonna go back in.

[groans]

[grunts]

I-I-I can get up. I'm good.

Okay!

A-Are there really this many…

d-dance contests?

HIGH SCHOOL DANCE CONVENTION

DANCING PARTY

A-And first years can participate?

I don't know.

I didn't know they had things like this.

I wanna try it, though.

Wanda really thinks

about dancing all the time.

I finally found a way to express myself

without speaking.

[slow pop music playing]

I want us to dance together…

I want to tell her…

First off, neck isolation…

Forward…

Back…

To the right…

To the left…

Feel the music and circle it round.

That's not it. My shoulders are moving.

Wait, I see. I should move

my shoulders the opposite way.

[laughs]

I've never moved my body like that before.

And this is the downward movement

and isolation we did earlier.

Can I put it all together?

When I go down, move my neck to the left,

and then bring it to the middle

when I go up.

Down, to the right.

Cool, I think that's good.

It actually looks like dancing.

This is pretty fun.

Yeah, I think your mindset is

super important when you dance.

When I dance, I kinda throw myself into

it, or kinda get mentally ready for it.

M-Mentally ready, how?

Like telling myself I'm a dancer…

I'm a dancer…

[music fades]

[Wanda] Hmm?

Morning, Kaboku.

W-Wanda, I wanna ask you something.

D-D-Do you wanna go out?

T-To practice dancing.

Sure!

[whispering] He threw me off…

STARFISH

It's like my feet are stuck in mud…

I can't pick my feet up at all…

I thought I could dance in front of Wanda,

but when someone's watching…

Don't think about who's watching you.

Just focus on the music.

Focus on the music…

[music continues]

Kaboku, you were really flowing

with the music just now.

[music fades]

Oh…

[student 1] Totally…

-I didn't sleep at all last night.

-How come?

[student 2] Huh? Oh, I mean…

[Kabo chuckles]

-[Hoto] Yo, dancer.

-[Kabo gasps]

Hoto…

Did you quit basketball?

You could come sometimes?

Even just at break time, or whatever.

C-Can I do that?

[Wanda] Hey!

Morning, Kaboku.

H-H-Hey.

Hello, Hotohara.

Yo.

[Kabo grunts]

[dancers] Huh?

[groans, stammers]

Good morning.

[dancers] Good morning.

Guess that's how it goes…

A guy coming alone to practice

with a bunch of girls…

Anyone would find it intimidating.

I can see why the guy

in second year stopped coming.

[imaginary dancer] Yeah!

Oh no… The more I focus,

the more awkward I get.

Wonder if I can be…

I'll just pretend I'm fine

and stretch in the corner or something.

CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK

-[dancer 1] Huh?

-[dancer 2] What?

Oh, we need to mop.

[dancer 3] Oh, yeah.

Who's doing it today?

Let me see…

-[Kabo] Um…

-Hmm?

I-I-I'll do…

[dancer 3] What?

…it.

Then, here you go.

Do you speak like that

because you're nervous?

N-N-No, i-it's not that.

Um, it's like… k-kind of just how I am…

O-Or like DJ scratching.

M-Maybe you can think of it that way.

[chuckles] DJ scratching!

[chuckles] Wanda, what's

with that reaction?

Okay!

Let's get to it today!

[dancers] Okay!

[On] Let's start

from the downward movement.

I've heard this song loads.

It's a slow tempo with a heavy,

aggressive feel to it.

Rap that flows effortlessly.

You gotta use subtle movements,

and keep it kinda sharp.

[music stops]

[music continues]

[On] Now, the upward movement!

[On] That guy has a good ear. Really good.

Even during isolation

and rhythm exercises,

you can tell he's genuinely

trying to catch the nuance.

His dancing posture…

Is it because of practice?

Or is it awareness?

Maybe that girl…

I knew it. This is interesting.

So, everyone,

it's almost time to start practicing

the routine for the June contest.

Let's practice confidence on stage

with some tryouts.

[dancer 1] Tryouts! Wait,

seriously? Already?

[On] This year,

the audition will be freestyle.

I'll start the music

and let's try dancing one round.

What!

She wants the beginners

to do freestyle already?

But… isn't that way too difficult for us?

Freestyle?

Hey, what's freestyle?

You don't prepare choreography.

Just listen to the music

and dance whatever comes to you.

Even I still can't do it properly.

Huh? I don't wanna do this…

[dancer 2] Do we really need freestyle

in a high school team contest?

It'll be fine!

I'm gonna teach you all the techniques.

And you'll be dancing in front of people

again and again.

So if you're gonna learn freestyle,

the sooner the better!

Plus, team dance only works when each

individual has their own set of skills.

Just take it as a little trial run…

[grunts]

Who wants to be part of the contest?

Just two of you?

[sighs, gasps]

Yay! Everyone's up for it!

[Kabo] Doing freestyle

in front of people already…

The pressure is unreal.

Still, it's lucky I get to practice

one-to-one with Wanda.

I'm happy I started dancing.

I really wanna compete in the contest!

Kaboku, you've become such a natural

at feeling the beat lately.

What? I-I have?

Do you have any tips?

Um, t-the other day,

the club president was saying…

For beginners, it's harder to follow

the beat going up than down.

One and two and three and four and…

You know that kind of rhythm?

If you're making a downward movement

on beat,

you drop down like this

from an upright stance without any prep,

and can catch the beat.

Down! Yeah!

But to make an upward movement on beat,

first you need to prepare

by dropping down.

Basically, to make an upward movement,

you don't come in on "one,"

but start from before, at the "and."

That's why it's all about rhythm training.

-So…

-She did say that, yeah.

I-I… It's just in my head,

but I imagine

the rhythm like in basketball.

Basketball?

The ball bouncing on the floor

is on beat and when it bounces back,

that's kinda like "starting from and"…

like the class president was explaining.

Whoa!

I don't know much about basketball,

but that's really cool.

B-B-But…

I-I dunno if it's proper to use

that technique for dancing…

Who cares? Just go with it.

Huh?

It's important to trust

your own instincts.

If you keep building on

your own stuff like that, then surely…

you'll be able to create a type of dance

that only you can do,

one that no one can copy.

[Kabo] A dance only I can do…

YAFFLE FEAT. YUJIN ARAMAKI

When Wanda dances,

she doesn't care what anyone thinks.

[music continues, muffled]

[Wanda] Kaboku…

[music stops]

Do you still find it scary?

W-W-Wanda…

A-Are you actually,

like, three years older?

Oof!

No way! What are you on about?

You might not like hearing this, but…

this is how I see you.

Deep down, you have something

you really, really wanna do,

but because you can't express it,

you're frustrated.

But maybe I'm overanalyzing you?

[grunts]

I-I… H-How can I ever dance like you?

You can dance

when it's just me watching, right?

Y-Yeah.

So when you dance in front

of more people, imagine it's just me.

Dance like you're just dancing

in front of me.