SUZURAN ODORI
Susuran Odori, are a traditional Japanese dance group based in Hamilton at the Canadian Japanese Cultural Centre of Hamilton. In Japanese, Suzuran means Lily of the Valley and Odori means Dance. The small white flowers of lily of the valley represent the students depending on their teacher the strong green stalk of the plant. Suzuran Odori is one of the oldest traditional Japanese dance performance groups in Canada. Mrs Chiyoko Izumi the founder of Suzuran Odori began her studies in Japan and British Columbia when she was very young and kept dancing throughout her life still teaching her students while in her late 90’s until the pandemic restricted her teaching. She came from a tradition of dance, her mother was also a teacher who had her own odori group in Hamilton known as Hachitsu. We are carrying on this legacy to honour the Suzuran odori established here in Hamilton in 1944 by the late Mrs. Chiyoko Izumi.
