JAPAN MATSURI 2012
I was involved in two performances this event.
First was a Lolita Fashion Show which showcased many different styles such as Classic, Sweet, Wa Otome Kei Inspired, Sailor and of course GOTHIC (which is what I was in)!
I wore pretty much the same outfit as I did to The Tea Party Club's party; Moi Meme Moitie dress, bonnet (I LOVE bonnets!) and curly haired black wig. The only difference were the shoes as I didn't want to lug around my long black boots so chose my smaller, black heeled Victorian styled shoes.
After arriving in the nick of time (undue stress much?) we went up the ramp from backstage to the stage and saw the MASSIVE amount of onlookers in the crowd. The whole of Trafalgar Square was packed with random people from sight seeing tour buses looking on. It was nice to see so many Japanese and British people enjoying the event, as well as confused passers by who were going to just visit the National Gallery but decided to see what was going on.
The weather was really lovely too - bright and sunny but not overly hot, so at least we didn't have to walk on a wet catwalk. I had my moment and did a few Gothic inspired poses with my cross jewellery and then with the other two Goth-Loli girls (who were both really lovely). BE PROUD MANA!
It was a lot of fun, if a little unorganised at the end where everyone just seemed to rush on and not know where to move to XD Loli Carnage! Total gridlock! It was hilarious :D
A lot a photographs followed as well as a free T-Shirt (YES FOR FREEBIES!)
I wasn't feeling too well (I was sick the previous day and all that night) so decided to stay in the vicinity and enjoy all of the stalls, booths and shows; the next being a cute performance of music and dance from little kids. There were a lot of mixed race (Asian and Caucasian or Black) children which made me smile as they get the best of both cultures from their parents.
Whilst getting caught on camera by the snap happy guests I had a little sit down by the fountain which was nice and relaxing. I listened with glee to the violin and Sound Of Music Meets Japan section of performances and even joined in a little with the stretches and exercises (by the end of the day, EVERYONE was joining in).
I got changed into my next outfit - a Sailor Fuku in green which I got from Bodyline and which has come in use many times now. A met the other members of the "Cosplay Girl Dancers" group who were backing up the wonderful Naomi Suzuki; a singer who is the voice behind Anime Opening Themes and music endeavors help orphans from the March 2011 Tsunami.
From Left To Right: Ung, Ruth, Lisa, Naomi, Myself And Tania.
We had loads of pictures taken with various members of the public and Naomi. I made sure to wear my Lolita Bloomers to avoid panty flashes as after all, that stage was raised high. My main concern was my top half riding up as my ample bosom was filing it in ways it didn't imagine to be filled. (I already heard stage hand talking about it and looking, even though I was assured it wasn't that bad. Males! (-*_*-) )
On a sidenote, the performers got a red band with access backstage. It was really mega cool! The toilets looked like something out of an aircraft and were very clean and modern. There was even a womens and mens "Changing Room" (in brackets as you could look through the clear plastic dividing them and see into the other one) with snacks and drinks, a heater (temperature dropping by this point) and a sofa which promptly got covered in our stuff.
We had a few mini practises using my iPhones music and then we were on stage.
The group of girls hung at the back and we did mini un-choreographed actions to the music whilst Naomi and her band and guest singers did their thing.
I have heard that Japanese acts who perform in venues in Britain are often saddened by lack of wow factor accessories but this atmosphere was fantastic; lasers, spotlights, smoke machine etc were going all out and even the crowd swayed with the music and held up their lit mobile phones like lighters. (Naomi actually had a really flame thanks to a safety lighter stealthily placed onstage.)
Two dancers helped for the penultimate song THEN WE WERE ON! I got an amazing position right at the front on the promenade part of the stage and enjoyed waving my pom poms (tinsel stuck to chopsticks XD).
I saw my friends in the crowd and everyone was cheering and taking pictures and performing the moves with us - amazing atmosphere. Once again the audience was PACKED with even more people!
The only slightly strange thing was someone jumping the safety barrier and getting onstage with us, taking videos with his mobile phone and dancing with Suzuki San. Eventually he left and security was tightened, but it made for a great conversation topic after we had taken our bow at the end and had rushed offstage. (Received second FREE T SHIRT!)
The next day we did some dancing at the Entertainment Media Show dressed as Maids. I was asked to clean the toilets. Always a blast cosplaying.
I got a few nice items and will probably do a vlog on them :)
Thanks for reading and hopefully I'll do another post about Expo!
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