「いち、に、さんー！」
リズムに合わせて、腕が大きく振り上げられる。

応援団の演技の練習が行われています。
最初は少しずつずれていた動きも、声を重ね、回数を重ねる中で、次第にそろっていきます。


太鼓・・・じゃなくて、太鼓の代替品のノートや箱の音が響き、そのリズムに合わせて一つ一つの動きが形になっていく。
バックアーチの準備や、体育委員会の生徒たちの動きも加わり、練習は少しずつ全体の流れをつくり出していきます。
真剣な表情で向き合う姿からは、本番にかける思いの強さが伝わってきます。

仲間と息を合わせ、動きをそろえること。
その積み重ねが、ひとつの演技をつくり上げています。

校庭で響く声とともに、その一体感は、確かな形になりつつあります。

“One, two three!!”
Their arms wave swiftly in precision with the music.

The cheering squad (oh’enbu) is practicing for their performance during the sports festival.

Their moves and cheers, out of sync when they first started, have slowly come together as one through diligent daily practice. 

The sound of the drum- err… the notebooks or empty boxes used in place of the drums – echoes through the school courtyard and as the students move, different shapes begin to form – a circle, a V, a flower. 

Other students are preparing their team’s back arch banners and PE committee members begin to dust off and prepare equipment. Even though practice for the sports festival has yet to officially kick off, students are moving all around the school in the background, doing their parts to prepare for the first big event of the school year.

You can tell by the serious expressions on their faces just how invested they are in making it a big success.

Moving as one with their teammates, aligning their every movement –
each small effort builds into a big performance.

As their voices echo across the courtyard and through the buildings, their sense of unity is gradually taking shape.