Kihara won’t reveal her age, but she’s been practicing Japanese traditional dance for almost 24 years. Born in Brazil from Japanese parents who later moved to Mexico City, she carries on the ...

MEXICO CITY – When music requires her to cry, Japanese traditional dancer Naoko Kihara barely alters her expression. It’s her arms and torso that move like a slow-motion wave. “Expression is ...

ASSOCIATED PRESS / NOV. 24. Aimi Kawasaki, a Japanese traditional Hanayagi-style dance student, practices in Professor Naoko Kihara’s studio in Mexico City, Friday, Nov. 24.

Dancers celebrated their ancestors during the Japanese Buddhist Obon Festival held Saturday at Clark High School, where a crowd of attendees watched and joined in the dance, ate traditional ...

Aimi Kawasaki, left, and Eiko Moriya, Japanese traditional Hanayagi-style dance students, practice with their handkerchiefs in Professor Naoko Kihara's studio in Mexico City, Friday, Nov. 24, 2023.

MEXICO CITY — When music requires her to cry, Japanese traditional dancer Naoko Kihara barely alters her expression. It’s her arms and torso that move like a slow-motion wave.

Aimi Kawasaki, left, and Eiko Moriya, Japanese traditional Hanayagi-style dance students, practice with their handkerchiefs in Professor Naoko Kihara's studio in Mexico City, Friday, Nov. 24, 2023.

Aimi Kawasaki, left, and Eiko Moriya, Japanese traditional Hanayagi-style dance students, practice with their handkerchiefs in Professor Naoko Kihara's studio in Mexico City, Friday, Nov. 24, 2023.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — When music requires her to cry, Japanese traditional dancer Naoko Kihara barely alters her expression. It’s her arms and torso that move like a slow-motion wave.