Hatsushiba Ritsumeikan beat the 48-school competition and danced its way to a first-ever win in the 14th Japan High School Dance Club Championship (Small Class) on August 18.
Shinagawa Etoile Girls' High School (Tokyo) (photo by Ikue Mio,

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Hatsushiba Ritsumeikan High School dance team (photo: Yuka Sutani)

With brilliant dancing to the theme of “Madonna,” the team from Hatsushiba Ritsumeikan High School in Osaka danced its way to the schools first victory in the “14th Japan High School Dance Club Championship, Small Class” category. 

The national tournament, sponsored by Sankei Shimbun, Street Dance Association, and Acecook, was held this year for two days from August 18 in Yokohama. It was Hatsushiba Ritsumeikan’s first-ever win.

Hatsushiba Ritsumeikan High School winners at the 14th Japan High School Dance Club Championship (Photo: Yuka Sutani)

The Hatsushiba Ritsumeikan team’s winning performance showed off the long pink skirts swirling in the dancers’ movements.  In an interview with The Sankei Shimbun, Hikaru Iijima (17), the group’s captain for three years, said she was pleased with the performance. "We couldn't practice because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was hard at times, but I'm glad we did our best," she said.

Minoh High School dance team (photo: Mizuho Miyazaki)

Minoh High School in Osaka was runner-up.

Awards for excellence went to six schools: Yurigaoka Senior High School (Kanagawa), Shijonawate Gakuen (Osaka), Jissen Gakuen (Tokyo), Kansai Ohkura Gakuen (Osaka), Yanagawa High School (Fukuoka), and Tokyo Metropolitan Komae High School (Tokyo).

Tokyo Metropolitan Fujimori High School (photo: Yuka Sutani)
Chukyo High School team (photo: Mizuho Miyazaki)

(Read the report in Japanese in The Sankei Shimbun at this link.)

Author: The Sankei Shimbun

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