Saipan Awaodori Team off to Japan anew

The Saipan Awaodori Team will again make the CNMI proud of them for the series of performances they will have in Japan this year.

Eight members of the team left last Sunday, June 9. They include Marianas High School graduate Cassidy Wabol, 20; MHS students Coddie Forbes, 18; and Owen Quitugua, 17; Saipan Southern High School’s Vianny Mettao, 17; Connie Mettao, 15; and Marcela Heben, 16; and Hopwood Middle School’s Santo Baidya, 13; and Leon Wabol, 13.

Saipan Awaodori Team founder Misako Kamata said once again they will perform on the streets of some key cities in Tokyo together with their mother team, Tokyo Tensuiren, in celebration of the Awaodori Festivals in Japan this coming July and August.

The schedule of performances is the following:

July 14: Shirogane in Tokyo

July 21: Ujie in Tochige

July 27: Kitamachi in Tokyo

Aug. 3: Higashirinkan in Kanazawa

Aug. 23, 24, and 25 are the main performances in Koenji, Tokyo. It is the Koenji Awaodori Festival—the biggest festival held every year.

Kamata commended the eight Saipan Awaodori Team members for traveling to Japan to perform.

“Traveling to foreign countries like Japan is challenging and helps them in their personal growth and development, giving them a sense of independence and self-reliance. Experiencing and embracing different cultures of Japan help them gain understanding, helping them become more open minded, and accepting different ways of life,” she said. (PR)