VIRTUAL VALENTINE’S DAY WORKSHOP TAKES PLACE ON FEBRUARY 12

The Japanese Culture Club at Mt. Hood Community College invites students to join a Valentine origami and Zumba workshop, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Participants can celebrate the art of origami and join in Zumba, to the beat of Japanese music.

The virtual workshop and interactive aerobic dance begins at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 12, ending by about 6 p.m. All students are welcome to join by emailing Natasha Horgan ([email protected]) or Yoko Sato ([email protected]) for an invitational Zoom link.

Participants can follow along to create origami paper hearts in addition to a traditional crane, or “tsuru” in Japanese.

A crane is one of the most popular folds of origami. Legend promises that whoever folds 1,000 cranes will have their heart’s desire granted by the gods. While 1,000 cranes aren’t expected to be made on Feb. 12, focusing on the heart’s desire is one of many ways to celebrate this year’s romantic occasion.

Origami is the performance of transforming common materials into minimalistic art. Originally intended for religious and ceremonial purposes, it has transcended to artistic

expression. Common forms seen in origami are plants, animals and geometric shapes. The art requires manipulating paper with folding patterns and sequences, similar to completing a puzzle, to produce awe-inspiring creations.

Horgan, club member and one of the hosts of the event, suggests any square paper is acceptable for creating a paper heart and crane. “Printer paper, old wrapping paper, etc. will do,” she noted.

Sachiko Nishikido, a licensed Zumba instructor and MHCC Japanese language tutor, will guide participants through an aerobic exercise that combines upbeat and energetic Japanese pop music with dance.

Dancers and non-dancers alike can find themselves in Zumba classes around the world. Zumba is historically set to Latin and international music with choreographed dance to match the tempo. Japanese pop will make for a lively workout on Feb. 12 and an additional way to experience the nation’s culture, through music.

Despite the campus closures in light of COVID-19, Mt. Hood’s Japanese culture club has stayed active and connected, both at home and abroad, during the implementation of social distancing and virtual learning. The club meets every Friday virtually. As of late, the focus has been on learning new origami folding patterns in preparation for the Valentine’s event.

In addition to practicing traditional Japanese arts and activities, the club began a virtual exchange with students from Sapporo Gakuin University on the northern island of Hokkaido, Japan in the summer and continues international correspondence with those students weekly.

The 2020 Japanese Summer Outbound program for select Saints students was canceled due to COVID-19. Ten accepted MHCC students were to be hosted at Sapporo Gakuin – located in Ebetsu, a sister city of Gresham just outside of much larger Sapporo. While the opportunity for students to immerse themselves in Japanese language and culture by visiting was hindered, the correspondence with students in Hokkaido is the creative solution the club put into place.

Anyone interested may get in touch with Japanese Culture Club through the club email and/or Sato, the faculty adviser.