As their ancestors before them, a small troupe of descendants from the Ryukyu Kingdom ventured out into the surrounding seas to practice the spirit of “Geon”. But instead of using boats, as their ancestors, they used cars because these modern day Okinawans were in the middle of Texas.
On February 18, 2011, RMDTexas was honored to be invited as special guest artist to perform with the Rockport-Fulton Middle School Buccaneer Band for their concert event entitled Asian Fantasy.
Rockport, Texas is a vibrant small Gulf Coast Texas town widely known as an outstanding fishing and recreational destination. About 180 miles southwest of Houston (three hours by car) this charming little fishing village is as “American” as you can get. Mom & Pop stores lining the streets, Texas and American flags displayed all over and everyone eats apple pie on a regular basis.
There were several challenges facing RMDT in this performance. First was trying to figure out exactly how to set up on a stage along with a 50 to 60 piece middle school concert band.
Another; there was five groups scheduled to perform, with RMDT as the third and part of the fifth. Being a high school auditorium there wasn’t enough room backstage for 20 or so Eisa dancers carrying drums to hang-out. So it was the parking lot behind the auditorium for ome last minuet refinements and to await their turn.
Now in Okinawa, seeing Eisa dancers in the streets at night is common; especially during O-Bon and the Eisa Pageant. But in small town Texas… there must have been quite a few heads turning as people drove by.
The pre-performance circle meeting took on a special reverence that evening in the parking lot behind Martha Luigi Auditorium. The chance to go deep in the heart of Texas culture and share the Okinawa Joy of Eisa was something RMDTexas took very seriously.
Even the Okinawa Ancient Ancestors looking on that evening must have been nervous… and also proud in watching their descendants as they prepared to venture out as a bridge between cultures.
The last number of the evening was a combination of all four groups; Gold Band, Percussion Ensemble, Green Band with Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko in front for a performance of a brand new publication, Kitsune: The Fox Spirits.
The Texas people proved to be as big hearted as the Okinawans and just loved the performance; giving an extended standing ovation to all in appreciation for their efforts.
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A special thanks for some wonderful people to work with;
Kenneth Thurman, Bandmaster
Ryan Thornberry, Associate Bandmaster
Leland P. Knapp, Director of Bands
Aransas County Independent School District
Website: rfms.acisd.org, click “Fine Arts” then choose “Band”
BUT WAIT!!!
That’s only the beginning of this first night On the Road for Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko-Texas Branch.
Faifoo Café, one of the sponsors for the concert, invited RMDTexas over for a full course buffet and do a little more performing after the concert.
Figuring out the logistics of performing in a place that is use to serving egg rolls instead of Eisa dance took a little time. But the patrons were all happy to relocate into one section as RMD took over the rest of the restaurant. After ward, everyone was all treated to some very fine Vietnamese Cuisine.
After the meal everyone met up at the Lighthouse Inn at Aransas Bay where rooms were provided for RMDT first night on the road. The next day of the Road Trip was a very big day for the classical dance side of the Okinawa Cultural
Association of Texas. Yuri-san was making her debut performance with Myagi Ryu NoSho Kai. So bright and early the next morning everyone would go back into the cars for the three hour drive to Austin.
But for now it was time to chill. All interested gathered in the room designated for a party, reflected on the great first day of the Road Trip and talked until the wee hours of the morning about all the wonderful things RMDTexas was going to do in the future.
