In a pocket of a small town, occupying an old wooden community center, a group of ladies masked and adorned in dress flow around a tatami room to the tune of a classic Japanese song. Colored parasols spinning, there is the hint of a smile on their faces and it is a charming sight.

At the entrance, hand sanitizer, a thermometer and paper for recording your temperature. It is hot and the old air conditioner does little to battle the open windows inviting the humid heat within. When the song comes to an end, they rest.

Not accustomed to wearing a mask during practice, breathing can become labored and there are struggles against aches and pains, but as the song begins again, so does their dance, as they continue to seize the day. There is still, somewhere out there, a danger in the air, but here the flutter of wings is all there is to witness.

​

Kanagawa, Japan. 2020