Bon Jovi & Bon Dancing
They sold 120 million copies so far, and they received the Award of Merit in American Music Award. They are the top Billboard artist this year.
They are also popular in Japan. They were the top selling artist in Japanese hit chart (Oricon), and they have visited Japan for 22 times on a tour.
But do you know that their famous tune, “Living on a Prayer” was played in a Bon Dance? On August 13 in Tokyo, a DJ played this song in a Bon Dance Festival, and danced Bon Dance.
This became a hot topic in Japan, and it was uploaded on YouTube. The video was widely spread, and Bon Jovi themselves tweeted on the Twitter;
“Hey, Japan! We’re looking forward to seeing you guys dance like this when we play on Nov. 26th in Tokyo & 27th in Osaka!”
To be honest, I love Jeff Beck better than Bon Jovi. But I guess it will be a little difficult to dance Bon Dance along Jeff Beck. Also, Bon Jovi is far more famous than Jeff Beck in Japan.
Anyway, while Bon Dance is a traditional Japanese culture which has 600 years of history, you can choose any song for its BGM, and the dance is simple, and anyone can join in. I hope more Western music is adopted in Bon Dance and more people have fun in this dance. I also hope Jeff Beck music is played in Bon Dance someday.
T.Shinke
Shonan Bonodori Association
[:]
seems like this would be interesting. When the next event will held ?
Thank you very much for your comment.
Actually, this article was written and posted in 2018.
The event was held in 2019; that is last year,but unfortunately it is not scheduled for this year.
Let’s hope that it will be held next year.