Monday, August 9, 2010

Elvis

Asia, and Japan in particular, is a strange place for Westerners. Asians have been exposed to Western culture and have inculcated Westernity(is that a word?) into their own cultures, but never in a predictable or rational way. Exhibit A of this strange mixture was the group of dancing Elvis's that I had a chance to see when I was in Tokyo. Wandering through a large park on a Sunday afternoon, I heard English music coming from one of the entrances to the park. As I got closer, I could tell that it was American 50's music, and even closer inspection showed a group of people dancing. Oh, but these were not just ordinary Japanese people dancing...no, this was a group of men, all dressed in black, with the pompadour hairdos and dance moves to boot. Apparently, they were having a "dance off" with another group of Elvis impersonators. I found that this goes on every Sunday, and has become something of a tourist attraction in this part of Tokyo. They were serious too...one man had his hand in a cast but was still jumping around and doing impressive dance moves, with little regard to the injured hand. Impressive....or something. I just wonder what these guys do during the week? Are these Japanese businessmen? Do they tell their families about this "hobby"? Do they dress this like this all the time? Do they impersonate other singers? Meatloaf? Elton John? Prince? Lady Gaga?


1 comment:

Cathy said...

Looks like u and a certain someone made a good memory. Was wondering if u secretly don ur pompadore? Luv ya!