(11 Apr 2006)
1. Various shots of Iunko Watabe teaching flamenco
2. SOUNDBITE: (Japanese) Flamenco student:
"At my town in Japan there is a Spanish-theme park. When I''ll go back to my country you will find me dancing flamenco there."
3. SOUNDBITE: (Japanese) Keiko, flamenco student:
"It is difficult to explain, but from the first time I watched flamenco I felt the urge to learn it."
4. Wide of park, Parque Guell designed by Antonio Gaudi, in Barcelona
5. Various of Japanese tourists at Parque Guell
6. Iunko Watabe teaching flamenco
7. Various of Iunko Watabe at home with her family
8. SOUNDBITE: (Japanese) Iunko Watabe, flamenco dancer:
"I discovered flamenco when I was at law school in Japan. After I graduated I realised that my true vocation was this dance so I worked for a year as a corporate lawyer to save money to come here and become a professional flamenco dancer."
9. Iunko Watabe and husband Emilio Segade at home
10. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Emilio Segade, flamenco manager:
"Flamenco is an expression of a feeling. I think the Japanese, more than the aesthetic of it, are attracted by the feeling attached to the dance. They seek to be able to communicate that feeling through the dance."
11. Iunko Watabe praying to her ancestors
12. SOUNDBITE: (Japanese) Iunko Watabe, flamenco dancer:
"I know that flamenco is alien to my culture. So I''ve always taken a humble approach towards it. I am very respectful with my Spanish colleagues and I always try my deepest humility when I''m dancing with them."
13. Close up of Iunko Watabe and flamenco colleague Lola
14. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Lola, flamenco artist:
"We don''t think of her as Japanese. For us she is another flamenco artist. Of course she has her roots, customs and way of thinking since she comes from such a distant and different country. But we flamenco artists have a very strong sense of identity and we consider her as one of us."
15. Close up of Iunko Watabe in front of mirror
16. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Iunko Watabe, flamenco artist:
"I am one person, but inside me there are two ingredients: one is Japanese and the other is flamenco, like a double sided coin."
17. Various of Iunko Watabe on stage with her flamenco group
SUGGESTED LEAD IN:
Flamenco, Spain''s most famous dance, is growing in popularity around the world.
One Japanese woman has made it her lifelong mission to learn, and now teach, the dance to Japanese women travelling to Spain.
To this end, Tokyo-born Iunko Watabe has now set up her own flamenco school in the Spanish city of Barcelona.
STORYLINE:
Iunko Watabe has been teaching flamenco dancing to Japanese women for years.
They come to Spain from all over Japan to learn the dance for a variety of reasons.
Tokyo-born Iunko first trained as a lawyer, but once she discovered flamenco she was hooked.
In her home country she''s now called "the Spanish flamenco dancer."
She has lived in Spain for a long time and now calls Barcelona home.
The city has become one of Europe''s hottest holiday destinations for the Japanese.
Hundreds of thousands of tourists arrive every year attracted by the city''s Mediterranean beaches and the outlandish buildings of architect Antonio Gaudi.
Iunko first arrived in Spain in the early 1990s.
She soon met flamenco manager Emilio Segado, whom she later married.
They settled in Barcelona and had two children.
Once established in Barcelona, Iunko opened a flamenco school and began to dance in one of the city''s best "tablaos".
She is aware that, as close as she may feel to flamenco, acceptance from her flamenco colleagues is vital.
And they have many plans for the future.
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