Maiko dance in a Kyoto hotel. 

Symbolic and so elegant. Props to her not tripping over that kimono.

Simply beautiful. She was clearly telling a story. I wish I understood the language and thus could know the story.

I find the symbolism (just as in many other foreign dancing, like the stories in hula from Hawaii) absolutely beautiful. I have seen one done like this, and in the story I was given was so beautiful I'd like to share. Hopefully this applies also for this particular dancers expression: (If I have misspoken or offended anyone that only knows it as the butterfly dance, I apologize) Music begins: Birth, growth, learning, poise and grace, then comes an important part: love or marriage arranged? She shows both hands literally like a scale at one point... turns one way to show us what this man is like; kind but too firm, perhaps even military holding his rifle over his shoulder, but still he comforts her patting her leg but is it enough? She shows and turns the other way to show how the other man is; adoring and creative, but maybe not firm enough to endure hardships in life. The cloth/flag comes out to show distinctly two different colors(and choices) she sheds a tear for one symbolically, and in the end submits/bows to perhaps the arranged marriage? But the viewer is left to interpret all the little parts: which one was the one she wanted, and which was arranged? Was she walking in the moonlight in her happy moments in the beginning? What are the beautiful gestures between the storylines telling you specifically? So very very beautiful. Keep up the tradition, and the wonderful work. Generations need to see something so soft and elegant always to remind us of this side of life. I hope we never lose these dances, or any of the other elegant storytelling dancing around the world!

I'm always amazed by their grace and elegance, I would never be able to move like she does in that kimono, I'd trip. X3

I can't believe that it's been almost a year since I last watched this ^^ Looking back at my comments now, I see how wrong I was, especially with the Erikae and the Mizuage misconceptions that I had, and I also see that Memoirs of a Geisha did more harm than good after the expansive research that I have done. Still, I absolutely love this dance and have come to a better understanding of the meanings behind the movements that she so gracefully does I just wish I knew what this dance was called, as I'm really not familiar with it ^^; I'm really embarrassed with the things I had said, as I really was wrong about them ^^; oh well, live and learn.

I read somewhere that the kimonos and obi belts can cost well over $10,000 EACH, and that the decoration is all hand painted.

I can see how some rock music derived from this

Something I find so beautiful about the appearance of the traditional way of life, would be simplicity and gentile art of being able to entertain, with such a beautiful backdrop, or in this case - the beauty would be the maiko in her stunning Kimono. It is the smallest, simplest pleasures that we, as most westerners, take for granted. I would be seriously delighted to be priveledged enough to even learn a dance like this one, or even be in the company of such a talented, artistic woman

some people will find these dances boring, but actually every step and gesture it used to tell the story. there's more depth to them than people think.

Every movement of every part of her body is intricate and takes years to perfect along with their instrumental capabilities. That's why it's not hard o appreciate the beauty of what they do. Truely amazing!

I could watch this all day! ♥

I find this performance absolutley magnificent. No unnecessary gesture, no extravagant move ; everything is in subtelty and sincerity. Art in its purest essence.

Sugoi !!! She is so beautifully and she dances very gracefully !!

first of all my hats off that she can move in that kimono, that's friggin amazing. the floor she is on is an instrument that's how it was so loud.

The dance is called Rokudan Kuzushi, here are the lyrics- Hana ga chocho ka chocho ga hana ka, kite wa chirachira mayowaseru. Hana wa iroiro goshiki ni sakedo, nushi ni mikaeru hana wa nai. Hana wo ippon wasurete kite ga, ato de sakuyara saku nu yara. Are flowers butterflies or are butterflies flowers? They flutter by, making me lose my way. Flowers bloom in a variety of colors, but none of them look back at you. Carelessly leaving one flower, but later, will it or will it not bloom?

She's very beautiful and fascinating. I love Japanese culture very much. Japan is very attractive and woderful. She dances with grace and charm. She's pure beauty and ellegance. Geishas and maikos have the same glamour.

Really like this, the precise gestures, the mix of graceful and sharp movements.

@fuyouhime The meaning goes beyond the surface imagery. Butterflies and flowers are the maiko and geiko, and a certain guest is unpopular with them. He has fallen in love with one, but everyone wonders if she will meet with him or not. This dance is one of the first a maiko will learn, and at the time this maiko probably had been dancing it for less than a year. Please keep this in mind when you judge her skills as a dancer.

I feel like a Maiko performance is something one should watch as a live performance. I think watching it as a video takes away from the careful movements and the quality of the music.

She's so pretty, and so graceful. I'm impressed with the Geisha/Maiko tradition - it's still the same, after all these years. Fantastic. :) I actually happen to live in Kyoto now, and hopefully, I'll be able to go see a Maiko performance soon. After watching this, Street Dance seems kind of sloppy, doesn't it? xD

Weird and beautiful. I can understand why Japan is so advanced in the creation of amazing female robots.

She deserves a roar of applause after that beautiful performance!

Great dance!!!

I love the jappansese culture :) They are so cultural . well in my point ofview

beautifully elegant and different to my dance style... I loved her foot stomping, it was highly effective as drama and contrast to her gentle movements. I especially loved that bow at the end so neatly executed considering the shoe thong could easily fall off

Maiko are trainee Geisha. They wear much more elaborate clothes then fully qualified Geisha. This is why her sleeves are so long and her obi (belt) is so tall. The clothes are so stiff and heavy that they are very difficult to move around in. I am surprised that she can walk easily, let alone dance. I am from The UK and I find Japanese Culture very interesting. Especially Geisha because they are so glamorous!

She is amazing. And beautiful.

Nice song by Yoko Ono

Dannas are not masters, they are patrons. Great painters have patrons who supply them with money to buy paints and canvases with as well as funds to live on between projects; geisha have (well, had, because they don't have them much anymore) danna who supply them with kimono and money for lessons to improve their instrumental and dancing techniques. And yes, all their odori tell stories.

Mostly, she doesn't lift her feet as much as slide them, which avoids stepping on the hem; that's the standard trick when wearing kimono, and actually the proper way to walk on tatami even when wearing western clothes. When walking outside wearing shoes (okobo or other), the bottom part is lifted and either tucked in the belt or held. This only for trailing kimono as the maiko and geisha may wear; modern everyday kimono stop at the ankle so there is no such issues.

The point is that Kimonos are not just dresses for a geiko, they're a very important item in her life and artistic development...:)

The reason she's wearing kanzashi without the dangles even though she is a first year maiko is because she is wearing the special kanzashi for the Gion Matsuri, which are designed to look like rigid fans called uchiwa. All of the maiko wear the same one, so during this time first year maiko don't wear dangles. During this time, senior maiko also wear the Katsuyama coiffure, but junior maiko will still wear the wareshinobu.

She's a senior maiko.Her collar is white in front and red in back. Her tama is green so is probably summer or september.

@Kkyyrruu The thing that seriously wrong with the film ''Memoirs Of A Geisha'' is that the film's 3 leading actresses were all Chinese women playing Japanese Geishas. The idiot director couldn't get at least 1 Japanese actress to play a Geisha. It's like getting a black man to play a white man. Does the director of the film think we're stupid? Just because they're all Asian doesn't mean anything. It's based on Japanese traditional culture so it wouldn't hurt to get some Japanese actresses.

I would probably find this a million times easier to relate to if there was some way of knowing what the story told.

beautiful, we could learn alot in the u.s. about honor, beauty and spirit from such traditional japanese customs.

It reminds me of an Indian classical dance with the story telling of the gestures. I love how the eyes are still expressive, though subtly, to draw the viewer into the story. :D

I'm amused by the lack of expression in her face... And I wonder what's the meaning behind this dance... Beautiful

I'm thinking as hard as I can and I think, (THINK), this is 'The Butterfly Song' which is about a butterfly trying to find a flower to land on.

She looks simply... beautiful.

I love to see a Maiko dancing, they are so beautiful.

thank you for uploading all of these videos about geisha/ maiko!

@xxkuraiummeixx I'm so glad that i'm not the only one with that opinion about the movie Memoirs of a Geisha. After reading the book (Memoirs of a Geisha) it was so sad to notice how they changed important details (for example that dance, ages and the personalities of the characters) to make the movie more entertaining for Westerners. Not a big surprise, though... [My English isn't the best sort]

@CMOSjockey - I agree with you. She's just going through the motions. Her face holds no emotion, either. She doesn't even look like she's enjoying what she's doing. I'm surprised to see this in a maiko. There is no radiance to this girl, as you see in other maiko and geisha.

Iwasaki Mineko is from postwar Gion Kobu. There are other accounts of geisha lives from before the war (and before the anti-prostitution laws of 1959) and from less reputable districts, and the practice that MoushiFJ evokes does seem to have existed.

I wonder what the dance is about, and what all the symbolism is. What's the symbolism of putting the scarf on her head?

The lack of expression is amazing, and how she does not falls with such a logn kimono

No, a geisha's erikae hasn't involved that. Turning the color is just to show you have gone through apprenticeship and don't have to rely on your looks, since you're a professional. It's also why maiko have more in their hair than geiko. There's a great book about it, it's called "Geisha, A Life" by Mineko Iwasaki. Check it out.

@xdominicanchicax No, Maiko/Geshia are artists. They sing, dance, tell stories, and serve drinks to the hosts. If you watch the vid (here on RU-vid), "Maiko Being Dressed," you will know how many layers of clothing these women have to put on, and they require assistance in their dressing. They do not go through so much time and effort to put their makeup on, their many, many layers of clothing, and hours worth of hair-do's just to have a fling!!

I agree somewhat. I'm glad that the book created an interest for you, at least. I guess my opinion of the author is just a lot more bitter because he ruined an amazing woman's reputation and career. I'm glad it inspired you to research more about the art but take most of its facts with a grain of salt, especially the movie. There are a lot of much more credible sources that are really lovely. :)

This was uploaded on my birthday lol i turned 7 then haha i still got my resents from then lmfao and i wonder how she didnt fall down in that dress lol

@twiggyjali Don't be so ignorant. Their straight face is supposed to imitate Noh masks . They aren't supposed to show emotion. The emotion is shown through her movements; and her movements tell a story.

What you call "doesn't even do anything" took about 5 years to perfect. That's why I respect geisha, they go through all of that tough training to do that.

@chi81216 The Japanese aesthetic is very different to the western one. Traditionally the rule of thumb is "Less is more".

@ZieeeeJ Indeed, everything is adapted from a book writed my Arthur Golden. All her knew about geisha was from Mineko Iwasaki, the no. 1 in '70s in Gion Kobu. But that doesn't mean it's correct. Many things from the book and movie are wrong.

@porta0toda1la2vida They're not that kind of people! They're telling a story with the body, the are elegant and wonderful. How can't you love them?!

Such a beautiful and elegant woman.

Well I belive there's a time and place for everything, litterally! It is not weird at all that such a thing does not attract you. Simply because you, like everyone, have grown with different standards and in different enviroments. If you were born in japan (especially quite some decades ago), i believe you would find this deeply attractive. It's like opera, really. We cannot fully appreciate it, simply because we have never lived at the time it's conept was designed, centuries ago. :P

@ilovetruffles99 I remember there being a vid on youtube of Mameyuri and Katsuyuki performing this dance together and I think it was said there that the dance is about a butterfly trying to decide where to land; all the same you got it was about decisions though :-)

And also they say Maikos' kimonos are prettier than full Geishas

You're wrong :) Geisha were NEVER prostitutes, but because of the similar looks with Oiran, high class courtisans, they are (sadly) mistaken as prostitutes in western world.

There are things about the Japanese culture that we as outsiders will never ever understand. It takes years of hard training to be a Maiko. Just because you don't understand what her dance means doesn't mean she did "nothing". Every movement has symbolism. You should do a little research before you insult an amazing and ancient art.

@Adam060756 Although I agree that it's insulting to think that people would mistake a Chinese woman for a Japanese woman, I think I remember reading that they did initially hold auditions in Japan for the roles, but literally nobody showed up with them - I think it was due to the nature of the roles, but I'm not entirely sure.

maikos are a lot more flashy because theyre building a reputation. they need to catch attention whereas geishas already have a rep. from their hair ornaments to their kimonos and down to their tall wooden shoes.

I watched that without sound and I thought this is walking, not dancing.

this dance is one of the more powerful ones i've seen. we need some background information on the story behind the dance. I'd imagine most people in Japan are educated in proverbs and ancient stories, which I'm imagining this dance relates to. Perhaps one can properly recognize the meaning by having some proper knowledge in advance. I'd imagine the nuances of her performance can be better appreciated this way. But I could be totally wrong though.

No, it wasn't even like that in the olden days.

@cautionnow6 She is apparently a butterfly that cannot decide which flower to land on.

has anyone else noticed that she isn't wearing dangling kanzashi? even though she only has her bottom lip painted, indicating that she is in her first year of service? i thought all maiko had to wear dangling kanzashi during their first year... i might be wrong though! and it is a exquisite dance, nonetheless!

It'd probably be better if I knew what the song was saying.

Has anyone noticed that in memoirs of a geisha sayuris kimono at the cherry blossom viewing party looks ALOT like this one?

I loved this video! Does the song that she's dancing to tell a story? If so it'd be nice to see an English sub so we can follow the story with the dance.

Amazing... so graceful. :D

My god, they're simply beautiful. They represent elegance and beauty. I wish I could be a Geisha...

I love her kanzashi ^^

She is beautiful.

Geisha no odori ga totemo suki desune. Ganbatte onegaishimasu. Nihonjin to Hmongjin kimono arimasune. Watashi no haikei no kimono desu. Mitte kudasai. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.^^

I know it's my American side. That's why I said it was. I suppose if I were Japanese, then I'd see the ultralimately-supreme-perfected-lovelilyness-beautifulity in this dance. And to go cliche on you, how would I know that I didn't like it if I hadn't seen it? I was interested. I was interested because I've read up on this stuff before. I already know about Japanese culture. That doesn't mean I have to love it, does it? Hum. Why don't you just call me an American pig and get it over with?

that type of dance takes years and years of training to have their kind of precision. FIY.

@Kkyyrruu I don't know if you know the fact that almost everything in the movie is adapted from a book wich someone wrote about a real geisha he knew.

@HARDcoreRAWRZZ can you elaborate about the story on the geisha's movements? Domo arigato.

it looks like she's dancing a story about a woman who can't decide between two lovers, and is very sad?

What do these dance movements mean?...what is the story of?...

Very Beautiful :) it reminds me of a little wind up doll.

Okay thank you :))

she's lovely

Do you reffer to the stuff you have read/seen in memoirs of a geisha?

@Mandylicious2 What story is it telling?

The ones that had to prostitute themselves in the red light district were oirans. Oirans also dance, but the variety in ways to entertain a customer were usually dancing, serving sake, prostitution or maybe playing an instrument.

This is my favorite maiko dance

What's the name of the dance she is performing??

Wow

What the song is about ?

Omg!!!! i love... love ur dress!!!!! (: I always wanted to were one

can anyone tell me the name of the song she's dancing to?

Does somebody know the of this song? PLEASE.

wow, that audience of three really enjoyed it :)

she looks fed up tbh

@MyCoffeeLove Mexico, peru, El salvador, don't they count? I mean they are in the west.

what is the name of this dance?