Dance Like Bonito Flakes
The other day, I happened to walk into a curry shop that had something called "Curry Kishimen" on the menu,
and I ordered it without thinking.
Then, on top of the piping hot curry kishimen,
there was a huge amount of "katsuobushi" (dried bonito flakes).
They must have been sliced super thin, because they were dancing and dancing on top of the noodles...
It was like a giant nightclub. Not that I've ever been to one.
It was almost like they had a will of their own, which was a bit creepy.
I felt like I was being drawn into a fantasy world,
so I hurriedly mixed it all up.
By the way, the song playing in the background while they were dancing was
a folk song about bonito flakes... sorry about that.
Young people these days dance a lot.
It's not like there weren't discos when I was young,
and we were having a Saturday Night Fever.
I think people who were good at dancing were popular back then, too.
However, for the average guy, dancing was a no-go zone.
I thought "dancing men" were people from another dimension,
that they didn't exist in the town I lived in,
and that they shouldn't exist.
I actually believed that quite seriously.
I feel like for the generation older than us,
it was the same with "singing."
Singing in front of people was out of the question. It was embarrassing.
Being forced to sing in music class at school was torture.
But that changed with the advent of "karaoke."
It even feels like the older generation that hated it the most
is now the one that loves karaoke the most.
I wonder if dance has changed in the same way.
What was the trigger?
Michael Jackson? TikTok?
Like karaoke, I feel that the moment dance was accepted as something
to show to others, the wall of embarrassment crumbled.
That said, once that happens,
a gap emerges between those who are good and those who are bad.
From an older person's perspective,
that is clearly a specialized skill,
so I don't feel like I can do it, nor do I want to try.
But for someone who grew up in a world where dance
has existed since they were old enough to know better,
it's probably a skill that can be mastered with effort.
When I see Sairi Ito dancing well
in a McDonald's commercial,
I really get the feeling that if you try, you can do it.
Speaking of commercials, I don't remember it well, but
there was one like this.
There's a girl struggling to study because her grades aren't improving,
and a phantom version of herself appears to encourage her,
and she and her other self start dancing.
It's a moving scenario about being encouraged by yourself,
but in the end, it just looked like
dancing was more fun than studying.
The target students probably
don't think that at all.
That's because dancing is just a normal part of everyday life.
Studying is something you have to work hard at, but
dancing is at a level where you find yourself doing it without thinking,
I think that's what it is.
Maybe they're moving without thinking about anything at all,
just like the "bonito flakes" dancing on their own on a hot griddle.