Bitchu Kagura Performance

	Mayor Peter E. Jenkins is pleased to announce that Mayor Tachiki, the Mayor of Troy's Sister City, Takahashi City, Japan, as an expression of friendship and good will, is sending a performance group known as the "Bitchu Kagura Dance" to the City of Troy to participate in and perform at the Troy Strawberry Festival. They will also be part of the Strawberry Festival Parade.
	This group of five persons will be in costumes and will perform four ancient Japanese dances that tell a story. The entire performance takes about an hour and will include costume changes.

The program will consist of:
- Introduction
- Dance of Sarudahikonomikoto
(with commentary)
- Dance of Kotoshironushinomikoto (with commentary)
- Dance of Okuninushinomikoto
(with commentary)
- Slaying of the Dragon
(with commentary) 

As an example of the commentary, the "Dance of the Sarudahikonomikoto" is based 
on a "myth about the time that Sarudahikonomikoto, a descendent of the gods, came down from heaven to rule the people of Japan, defeating all who opposed him on the bridge between heaven and earth". Through this dance, the people pray to this god for the happiness of their families, protection from natural disasters, disease, accidents, etc., and for the prosperity of their children. For this reason it is performed at the very beginning of Kagura dance programs. The origins of this dance can be traced back to a time well before the Kamiyo Kagura of today took its present form. 

A short performance will be presented by the dancers  immediately following the Bed Races on Friday night. You will be able to enjoy the full performance on Saturday, June 3, at 4 P.M. in the Troy High School Stadium.

Mayor Jenkins hopes that many visitors to the Strawberry Festival will take the time to enjoy the performance.

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