Kids' Activities 06-1

Kids to Dance Before World Cup Match

	Kids practice suzume-odori ("sparrow dancing"). (Rifu Daisan Elementary School)

On June 9 Miyagi Stadium in the town of Rifu, Miyagi Prefecture, will host its first World Cup match. The 2002 FIFA World Cup Miyagi-Sendai Promotion Committee will stage a cultural event on the pitch before the game to welcome the players and fans. Elementary-school students from Rifu will perform suzume-odori (a "sparrow dance") in front of the players in order to show the culture of Miyagi Prefecture to the world.

All 10 of Japan's World Cup venues are holding such welcome events on the day of their first match to introduce the history and culture of their area. Miyagi's event will be held before the first-round game in Group G between Mexico and Ecuador.

The promotion committee decided on the "sparrow dance" because it is historically associated with Date Masamune, a feudal lord of Sendai about 400 years ago, and the roof of Miyagi Stadium was built in the crescent-moon shape of Date's helmet.

The Mexico-Ecuador match kicks off at 3:30 p.m., with the welcome event starting at about 2:00 p.m. Over 400 fifth-grade students from six elementary schools in Rifu will perform alongside about 150 dancers from the Aoba Festival in Sendai. Almost all of them performed at the closing ceremony for the autumn national athletics meet in Miyagi last year, so this is their second appearance at a big event.

The kids at each school in Rifu have been practicing since late April, and there will be a rehearsal for all of the cast at the stadium on June 1. The town's World Cup office said: "The children are looking forward to the World Cup, which will be watched by people around the globe. We hope they put on an exciting dance show."

The Miyagi-Sendai promotion committee said: "Both of the teams that will play on June 9 are from Latin America, so we are going to arrange the dance in the style of Latin music in order to convey our culture and our welcome to the players and supporters from abroad." (Kahoku Shimpo)