The Rhythm of Japan

We are just about halfway through our performances here at Huis ten Bosch, and we've settled into the rhythm.  We usually sleep in a bit, until 9:30 or 10, then get up and have tea, make breakfast (on the unbelievably slow and underpowered hot plate) and then do a little wandering during the day - visiting local shrines, exploring the neighborhood, or taking a train trip into town for shopping.  

Our work day starts at around 4, when we pedal our bikes into the park and start getting ready for our shows - makeup, lots and lots of stretching, prop repair, etc.

The first show is a mini (solo) at 5, then we've got shows at 6, 7, and 8 and sometimes 9 and 9:40.  We all like that they're pretty much back-to-back so there's not a whole lot of waiting around.

We are becoming absolute masters of efficient shake-off and show prep.  We can prep all 14 props in about 8 minutes, give or take.  

We are also becoming masters of performance in inclement weather.  Who needs to be able to feel their fingers while fire dancing?  Not us.  30MPH gusting winds during fire eating?  Not a problem.  Last night I found myself balanced on Darrell's shoulders, leaning waaaay back while a terrifying gust of blizzardy, snowy wind nearly put my fire poi right out.   I just smiled and gave the crowd a wink.

The audiences are troopers, huddling in their coats and braving the conditions to see us out there in the storm.  It's a little rough on us, though... they clap, with their gloves on, and we can't hear them.  They're too cold to cheer and they're all covering their faces so we can't even see them smile.  But they stay to the end, so I guess that means they like us.

We pedal home in the moonlight, and the next day we wake up and do it again.  The sameness is strange to me.  I ran away to the circus partly because I want each day to be different, and here I am, reporting to work at the same time every day, following the same routine.   I'm trying to let it relax me.  No worries about where to be, no decisions to make, no problem.  I must admit, I will be happy to get back to a life where the day of the week actually matters. 

It's also fascinating to me how accustomed I'm getting to the absolute weirdness of our environment.  Electric disco swans and people in giant tulip costumes no longer get a second glance.  It's just Huis ten Bosch.  

It's still a challenge, and we're still dragging home exhausted every night, but it's manageable.  The main variable of each day is still the weather.  Fire dancing in a blizzard is really no fun at all, and if the temperature gets way up into the 50s we all find ourselves grinning like idiots all day long.  Muscles and joints are not made for below-zero-acrobatics, and while the heat of the fire helps make it possible for us to do this at all, it's still not much fun in the bitter cold.  

Day Trip to Nagasaki

It's my day off!  I just got back from a day trip to Nagasaki.  It's about 1 hour and 15 minutes by train from Huis ten Bosch, and I set out this morning with no plan whatsoever.  I knew that I did *not* want to go to the Atomic Bomb museum (my heart is too soft and couldn't take that kind of tragedy) but I had no idea where my feet would lead me.  I decided to follow them, and see.

It turns out.. I don't really like cities.  I've done enough traveling and have seen enough big cities that I fear I'm starting to get a bit jaded.  Yes, there are differences, but really when you get down to it, a city is just a city.  There's traffic, there are buildings and restaurants and people, and cars and buses and lots of ugly gray corners.

I am drawn, instead, to parks.. to gardens, animals, statues, and green spaces springing hopefully up from amidst the hustle and bustle.  When I just let my whims guide me, I wind up at the quiet green spaces in whatever city I am visiting.  At the end of the day this makes perfect sense to me, but this morning before I left I couldn't have predicted where I'd go - I think my mind learned something about my heart today.

It's winter, and the green space is mostly brown in Nagasaki, but the life is still there if you look - lots and lots of teensy little dogs, cats, pigeons, turtles, and koi ponds (OH! the koi ponds!).  Gardens that are carefully pruned back, with the occasional early rose all alone on the bush.  Trees, just starting to think about budding.  I realized I can hardly wait until February when the cherry blossoms appear and all Japan turns pink!  

I visited the seaside park (wherein there was an absolutely delightful lunch that surprise-included an all-you-can-eat chocolate fountain!), the Peace Park, and having grown up a Glover, how could I miss the "Glover Gardens," Nagasaki's main tourist attraction?  

It seems Thomas Glover was quite the man around these parts.. he is responsible for the first Japanese locomotive, Kirin Beer company, and his son built the first paved road in all Japan.  They credit him with bringing Nagasaki into the modern era.  Great-great-grand-uncle-once-removed perhaps?  

It was fascinating to wander through the "western style" house he built and see the juxtaposition of the familiar (I grew up with almost that same wooden hutch.. The rooms are the right size and proportion.. those are almost the exact same stair railings we had.. the building materials make so much sense.. and on and on) superimposed with Japanese land, Japanese gardens, roofs, and koi ponds.   Also, the view was fantastic.

The Glover Garden also housed the Nagasaki Performing Arts museum, wherein I learned all about the Kunchi festival (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4411.html).  It looks SO awesome.  It's in the fall, so I'll miss it this time around, but seeing the actual boats and dragons these guys spin around and toss up into the air was pretty freakin' cool.

Next month they'll be having a Lantern Festival in Nagasaki, and so I may need to go back.  Also there may be cherry blossoms to see, and I now realize I probably need to follow those wherever they may bloom.  :)

Japan Adventures

Yesterday there was all sorts of excitement. In the morning,Darrelland I decided to take it easy and take the train to town for some milk and gloves and a Smart Media card. We rode to the Daito station, home of Jusco, our favorite shopping mall, and the train doors didn't open. We waited patiently, and then the train took off and headed for the next station. Aack! 

When we got off at the next stop and showed the conductor our tickets he glared at us and told us to WAIT, probably intending that we should get on the next train headed back and not miss our freakin' stop this time. The next train was in 50 minutes, and it was an outdoor station (and freezing and windy).. ugh. We decided instead to walk back to the Daito station.. it couldn't be THAT far.

So much for a relaxing, "take it easy" day..

But it truly wasn't that far. We made it back in about an hour, at approximately the same time as the train, with lots of exploring along the way.

After our shopping misadventures, we came in to the park to do our shows, and at our first big show, Fukai our fire safety told us the second big show (at the Palace) was cancelled that night.

You see, our wicks are BIG. They use a lot of fuel. We conserve as best we can, but we have still been going through 2 1/2 cans of white gas every day. Huis ten Bosch is providing our fuel and they underestimated the amount we'd use. It's been a solid week of holidays over here, and every business but ours is closed, it seems. So, Huis ten Bosch hasn't been able to find us any more fuel. The last couple days we've been scaling back the shows a bit and squeeeeezing every last drop possible out of our wicks before lighting them, to make it last. There was even a note on the fuel can today that said "This is the last can! Please make it last through one big show and two mini shows today. More fuel should arrive tomorrow".

So we squeezed and stretched and saved about 1/3 of the can for the two mini shows, and then decided to go out for coffee with our unexpected time off. We headed back to the dressing room and then got a call from our manager - "Where are you?? Your Palace show starts in 8 minutes!"

Turns out the left hand wasn't talking to the right hand.. they'd stashed away some more fuel at the Palace and the audience was gathered, expecting a show.

By this time Sequoia had gone home for the night, and it was Shaina's day off.. so Darrell and I grabbed our stuff and hauled ass for the Palace (3/4 mile away). We got there, soaked our tools in record time, and pulled off our 4-person show with just the two of us, starting only 6 minutes behind schedule.

Luckily the stage at the palace is small, so we were able to fill it fairly well. I don't know if the audience could tell that we were missing half the troupe. :)

There's a quick-change after the palace show, and we were already running behind, so we grabbed our stuff and RAN back to the van, which pealed out and took us to the fire canal, where we soaked and were ready to go for the mini shows with 3 minutes to spare. (One thing I LOVE about the Japanese - they are as ridiculously punctual as I am!)

Nothing like the unexpected to kick your adrenaline back into gear. :)

Huis ten Bosch explorings, and Darrell's day off

Yesterday was Darrell's day off, so we had a "girls only" day at the park.  I went in a little early and did some wandering, found where the good cheese is sold, (I may be in the only place in all Japan where one can find quality gruyere and smoked gouda) and checked out the docks during the daytime.  Huis ten Bosch sure is an odd place.

Our shows went pretty well - it was fun subbing for Darrell, and getting my "badass masculine" on.  (I don't think I can do it quite like he does though)  Doing a 4-person show with just 3 people is a little bit challenging, but we're all really versatile dancers and I think we pulled it off with just a little bit of rough around the edges.

Our schedule and show location keeps changing around every day, but at least we're on a "normal" schedule of two big shows and one mini-show apiece now.  Last night our final mini shows were done on a little island floating in the canal, and as we finished the show we lit up a whole bunch of little fire pots to fill the whole canal with fire.  According to the excitement on everyone's faces afterwards, I guess it was pretty spectacular.  We really dug dancing on the little island too.

Today is my day off!!  I shall get a massage, perhaps visit the hot pools at the Lorelei hotel across the way, and if I have the energy, perhaps go into town and explore a little bit.

I'm trying to take photos for y'all, but my iPhone screen has gone kaput.  Even Darrell's best efforts can't fix it.  The phone still functions as a camera, if I can navigate to the camera app "in the dark" (which I can!), but there's no viewfinder so I just don't know what I'm gonna get, and I don't have the ability to turn the flash on and off.  So!  You'll have to go to Sequoia for quality pics.  For now, here are a couple blind snapshots that turned out not-too-bad after all.  :)

Hot Rum & Coke?

Our Local Pirate Ship

Our Local .. Ummm.. ?

BRILLIANT.  Why don't we do it this way in America?

The Palace Gardens at Night

Japan Day 6

We've been here at Huis ten Bosch for a week now and are starting to feel the rhythm of our routine.  Today's show schedule is the same as yesterday's show schedule, and that's the first time that's happened - the week after New Year's is a major holiday week for the Japanese, so everything and everyone has been running on overdrive.  Our bodies are begging for rest, but we're all fit enough that I'm confident we'll make it through the next couple days.  We will all be glad when Monday rolls around and our daily show count goes from 7 down to 3.

The intense schedule has us making little mistakes.. singed hair and eyebrows, mini burns on hands and arms - nothing major, thank goodness, but enough to put us on our guard.  Yesterday I misplaced my fire hula hoop wicks, and had to borrow Sequoia's fans to sub for the hoop solo during one of our shows.  (Darrell found them before the next show, earning 10,014 brownie points and a gold star)  That put me a bit off balance, and then one of my poi handles caught fire during that show's finale and I had to finish the choreography with just one poi.  That's NOT easy, folks.

I dropped it in time to save my knuckle skin, so I'm ok.. but we've had multiple instances of handles catching fire.  I think it's the combination of the slightly different fuel we're using and the sheer volume of shows - the handles never have a chance to fully dry and breathe.  On my first day off, I believe I shall attempt to make some spare handles so we can rotate them out.

So, we still haven't had much time to explore either the park or the surrounding area, but we start getting days off next week so that will come.  This weekend is all about head-down and pushing through to Monday.

Japan - Day 4

Today was a lighter show day - only 5 shows instead of 7.   We are very much appreciating the break, and took advantage of the shorter work day to have an epic shopping trip (hot plate!  yes!  no more microwaved fish!) and to go see a delightful magic show (fire illusionist FTW).  Also I got a wonderful massage, wherein they shiatsu-ed the tightness away and then encased my legs in the fabulous Leg Massage Machine, which squeezed and squeezed and squeezed until I was in absolute heaven.  These cobblestone streets do take their toll on the ol' feet.

Tomorrow we will (hopefully) get our loaner bikes, which will give us a bit more freedom to explore.  We've got a heavier show schedule for the weekend but then it lightens up again for the weekdays, and we'll also start getting to take days off fairly soon.  I think we're all a bit wiped out and in need of a rest, but our show keeps getting better and better.

It's an interesting phenomenon.. as our show gets tighter, we seem to get more dissatisfied with it.  New interactions emerge, we get more laughs and more applause, and we really start to notice all the bits that don't work as well as they could.  We'll absolutely ROCK a piece of one show, and if it's back to "normal" at the next show we feel like failures.

We're also feeling the effects of oh-so-many shows and starting to get a lot of singed hair and mini burns, especially on our hands.  When the weather is really cold outside, that also takes its toll.  I'm impressed with everyone's resilience and grateful that our bodies work so very well -- in spite of minor things like burns and illness and below-freezing weather we are still jumping around, doing acrobatics and playing with fire.  My troupe members RULE!

This first week is the most demanding of the whole run.  Soon we'll settle into a comfortable routine and have a little time to relax, enjoy, and explore.  For now it's all about getting through the weekend.. and I have absolute faith that we're gonna rock it.

New Year's Eve in Japan-sterdam

We survived our first and most difficult day of performances.. it's all downhill from here.

Yesterday was New Year's Eve.  It started out with a relaxing morning wherein I finished my first drawing and hung it on the wall.  I'm unreasonably proud of it.

After a walk to the Family Mart (our local 7-11 type store) and some apartment yoga, we headed over to the park.  We had 7 shows yesterday - each of the 4 of us had a solo set, and we had three ensemble stage shows to do.  That's a lot of shows, but it's only 4 shows each, and it probably works out to about 45 minutes of stage time apiece.  

Totally do-able.. until you take into account that the stages are each about a 3/4 mile from our dressing room, in different directions.  

I went to all 7 shows yesterday, and did a little extra exploring, and I wouldn't be surprised if I walked 8-10 miles all told.  That, on top of actually performing (and our shows are incredibly high-energy), and I'm pretty beat.  It seems to be a great way to get past the last of the jet lag, however - yesterday pounded us FLAT and so today I slept in until 10:30 am instead of waking up at 3 or 4 am.  I'm so proud.

At Sunset, there was a teaser fireworks show as all the lights in the park came on.  At midnight, Huis ten Bosch put on the biggest, most amazing fireworks display I have ever seen.   Our dressing room is on the third floor of a building that looks out right over the harbor and our view was fantastic.  At several points during the show I couldn't help just shouting and cheering.. so delightful!

Our ensemble fire show is looking good - still a little rough around the edges, but we're getting choreography and transitions worked out and every time we perform it's a little bit better.   

The solo shows all look incredible.  I loved watching everyone get out there and do what they do best.  All our performers have very different styles, and watching the solo shows was really inspiring.  I can't quite figure out to describe the feeling it gives me.. perhaps it's like a cookie.  If the sugar, the chocolate chips and the butter are all delicious and fresh, it's a joy to let the combined flavors mingle on my tongue.  Understanding the quality and distinctiveness of each ingredient makes the whole just that much sweeter.

Our first stage show featured an unexpected exploding fire pot, wherein the pressure inside the little oil lamp built up and exploded the wick up into the air with a dramatic fire ball right when Sequoia and Shaina were bending over it to light their tools.  We blame the unfamiliar Japanese fuel - nothing like this has ever happened in 10 years of using that pot.  (everyone was mostly OK)

Our second stage show started in the rain and finished in the freezing snow.  Thank heavens it wasn't terribly windy.  We only lost about half the audience when the snow / sleet started coming down in earnest.  These people are troopers.

Our third stage show (1:00 am) was delayed for about 5 minutes because an absolutely adorable young Japanese couple commandeered our stage for a super romantic and silly marriage proposal.  That was lovely.  The temperature at that show, at our best guess, was -3 C.   Could have easily been colder.  

Photo by Sequoia

In spite of all the challenges.. yesterday was magical.  The park is illuminated with what must be millions of lights, and the walk through the Art Garden to get to one of our stages is nothing short of astonishing.  The photos just don't do it justice.. the light sort of flows and waves across the ground, and the canal reflects everything around it, and everyone's just walking around with their mouths hanging open.  

Our other stage location, at the Palace, has an enormous lotus-type fire sculpture and fields of torches, and the whole place radiates fire and heat and beauty (and smoke, but who's complaining?).  

Everyone is incredibly nice, helpful, and doing their best to make each day a great experience for everyone else.  It's hard, but it's working.  And it's only going to get easier.

We've got the same number of shows today but won't have to pull such a late night, for which I am grateful.  We're hoping to catch some of the other acts at the park before they wrap up at the end of the week.  And did I mention that it was SOO good to be able to sleep in this morning?  :)

Japan - Arrival

We've arrived!  Fire Pixie is performing for the winter season at Huis ten Bosch theme park in southern Japan.  

The trip out was pretty grueling, almost 24 hours all told to get here.  We are staying in a teensy apartment complex (the apartments are teensy, not the complex) just across the river from the park.  We got in late last night and crashed, then woke up to find the full moon setting over the hills and the sky lightening with a beautiful misty dawn.

Yesterday we got our performance schedule and took a tour of the park, visiting all our different stage locations and moving into our dressing room.   We're going to be performing either 2 or 3 full length shows each day, plus 3-4 "mini-shows" - basically 10-minute solo shows.  The first few days are going to be nuts, as we'll be packing as many shows in as possible for the New Year holiday.  However, our first show each day isn't until about 4:30 pm, which is sort of awesome.. we will have day times to do whatever we please. 

The rest of yesterday was taken up with shopping.  The park is under new management, and the amenities aren't quite what they were last time - our little apartment is pretty bare-bones.  We have no plates, silverware, chop sticks, towels, or cookware for our teensy kitchenette.  There was no food or tea on the first morning, and not even a cup to drink water from. We do have a sink, a microwave and a mini-fridge.  The walls are barren, the lighting is harsh and fluorescent, and the bed is a narrow twin that Darrell and I both have to squeeze into.  (good thing we like to snuggle)  

I will admit, dragging into this sad little place after 24 hours of travel had me pretty disheartened.  I miss my hanging fairy bed and my giant bathtub and my well-appointed kitchen!   I miss my cat.  I miss waking up in my comfortable familiar surroundings with my comfortable familiar routine.  I miss all that way more than I thought I would - way more than I feel I should.  When did I get so set into my ways?

"The powerful odor removal effect will not make you feel uneasy"

But, after shopping today things are getting a little more homey.  Thank heavens for Daiso - the 100-yen store that has EVERYTHING.  Why aren't our dollar stores this awesome???  I got some art supplies, some cozy slippers, a soft area rug and some scented candles and the place is feeling better already.  I'm going to make some crazy art and decorate the heck out of this institutional little cubby.  

Of course, having things like tea, and a mug to drink it from (as well as my very own bottle of sake) doesn't hurt either.  :)

Today is rehearsals all day long, then we begin performances on Monday (NYE).  I'm quite looking forward to it - here's hoping the weather holds.