国士舘大学新体操部

■Festival Del Sole!!: Day 3

Today, we are going to give our second performance at the “Arena Giardini”, which is a bit smaller than yesterday’s venue.

To prepare, we did warm-up exercises at a gym, then at 11:30 we moved to the venue and practiced our routines. But we encountered an unexpected situation: it has been gloriously sunny in Riccione for the past few days, and today too, glaring sun was beating down on the venue. That made the surface of our outdoor stage extremely hot, mercilessly burning the feet of the gymnasts performing without shoes. They had trouble focusing on their performance because of the burning mattress. However, we somehow managed to confirm our routines for the night, and finished our practice. Unexpected things keep happening while we are on expeditions, but it is one of many things we enjoy.

It’s burning hot…

Also, we held a workshop on this day. At the “Festival Village” a short distance away from the venue, we gave a 45-minute workshop on jumping rope. About 40 people, mainly teenage gymnasts, attended it. We had fun teaching them several ways to jump rope in groups. Time passed by like a flash, while participants were actively involved in the activities regardless of ability level. It was a precious opportunity for my students to realize that they were able to communicate with participants even though they didn’t speak the same language.

At 21:30, our second performance started. Again, the venue was full. A lot of people came to us to say, “Your performance is not like the ones by other groups. It is really good and I feel like I am watching something amazing!” Those comments motivated us so much.

The audience enjoyed our team routine, jump-rope routine, and group performance. I’m relieved that we could end our performance on a high note.

The number of our shows is getting smaller day by day. We aspire to show our best performances until our final performance, as well as satisfy our audience.