My name is Maggie (マギー). I am a 2nd-year college student (Major: Japanese and Journalism) in Seattle. I have done many hobbies like dance, Taekwondo, and music. Ever since I entered college, though, the amount of studying has taken a toll on my exercise time. (I'm not fat, but I want to keep happy in the gloom-and-doom rain of Seattle). So...
Ever since I was in the 10th grade, I've loved this Japanese girl group called Morning Musume (モーニング娘。）. I'm not the type to enjoy pop music, but I immensely enjoy Japanese music. I'm proud to find obscure bands like Sakanaction and Base Ball Bear, while I do enjoy pop music like Morning Musume and Perfume.
When I first went to Japan in the summer of 2007 (age 16) as an exchange student, I did a gigantic project called "The Ultimate Haruhi Dance All Over Japan". Maybe you've heard of it? It was a big hit on youtube for otaku communities like Kotaku and Japan Probe. It was basically like a "Where the hell is Matt" inspired video only with the Haruhi Suzumiya dance "Hare Hare Yukai". Unfortunately, there are many different versions of the dance and mine was pretty darn early in the popularity - it's not the mainstream "version" of the dance, even though I watched the video over and over trying to pinpoint details. In addition, there were mistakes in creating it (it's kind of "GAAAH" feeling when you are dancing by yourself in some weird street with no music).
Anyways, while increasing my love for Morning Musume and how fascinated I was with the whole concept of it (it reminded me of my dance days), I observed the vast amount of changes in the group. After recent singles like Kimagure Princess, the dances have gotten more and more complex, especially when compared with the group's first official single: "Morning Coffee". If you watch the original videos when it was first released or their first concert, they are stepping side to side with maybe a few bits of choreography (like this weird kicking movie). In addition, they are kind of awkward (in an endearing way, though). Nowadays, if the current group does a rendition of "Morning Coffee" it's more jumpy, hyper, and has a rhythm. Unfortunately, for this challenge, I'm more interested in the evolution of the dancing of Morning Musume - not what a modern-day interpretation would be.
So, please support me from now on! :) よろしくお願いします！
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