Hirokazu Tategata's Danceable LIFE Vol.5
The "Tategata World" in search of songs that suit his own style
Hirokazu Tategata (Actor, Dancer, Choreographer)
The other day, I did a live performance of singing and dancing. Due to space restrictions, I couldn't do big movements, so the main focus was singing. Of course, I dance and sing on stage at The Convoy Show, but it's only been about three years since I started doing solo live performances with singing as the main focus. Before that, I couldn't even imagine doing it...or rather, I was really bad at singing. I had a complex about singing, so I was scared of it and was really scared of singing. I just hated it so much...
But in Convoy, we have to sing. And because there are so many of us, we have to harmonize. At first, I couldn't get the notes right, and it was a very difficult task to harmonize. But as I continued to sing, even if it was forcible, it gradually became fun, I was able to get the notes right, I was able to harmonize, and then I understood the fun of singing together. It's the same with dancing and acting, but I'm clumsy at everything, so it seems like I always start with a complex (laughs).
However, I had never thought about doing a live performance with singing as the main focus. The person who gave me the push was Ai Nishina, a pianist and electric organ player. It all started when I planned to sing at a private event and asked Nishina to accompany it.
"The important thing is to get used to singing, and to sing with a live band. Even if you're not good at it, if you stand in front of people and sing, you'll definitely get better."
I felt like I was being told that it's not the time to be complacent about not being good at singing. Since then, I've been trying to perform live singing with a live band that includes bass, drums, and percussion.
Of course, learning the basics is important. By learning how to project your voice and open your mouth properly, you can stabilize your pitch and make it easier to sing. Perhaps because of that, I've recently been thinking more and more about how it would be interesting to sing like this.
I am by no means a skilled dancer, so when it comes to dance I have aimed to express my own unique worldview, or what might be called "Tategata-ness."
The same goes for singing.
In order to acquire something more like myself and a persuasiveness that is unique to me, I want to be able to sing songs that are true to myself, rather than singing well.
When I was young, I was desperate to learn technique. I think that was absolutely necessary, but as you get older, what is required changes. In my case, I was in an environment where I could learn singing and acting, so it would be a waste to stick to dancing alone. I came to think that if I mixed various elements, I would be able to have a wider range of activities and have a longer life.
Although I am still learning, I feel like the boundaries between "singing," "dancing," and "acting" are starting to blur when it comes to expressing my own worldview.
