ローズ・パレード出場の橘高校のこと

ローズ・パレードに京都橘高校の吹奏楽部が出場してから随分経ったのですが、一連の行事のなかで米紙の羅府新報(Rafu Shimpo)に或る一人の生徒のことが取り上げられていました。

覚え書としてその記事を転載。

Never Miss a Single Step

Posted On January 3, 2018

DOWNEY — When the featured musician stepped forward during a brief performance Dec. 27 at the Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey, everyone could see she was unique, but few knew just how special she is.

The Kyoto Tachibana High School marching band made a brief appearance, ahead of their scheduled performance in Monday’s Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena. As the band tore into a thunderous rendition of Benny Goodman’s “Sing, Sing, Sing,” flutist Hitomi Kanamaru stepped up and launched herself into a Lindy Hop dance, all while continuing to play.

Her acrobatic moves were all the more inspiring considering the fact that Kanamaru was born without the lower portion of her left leg.

“At first, it was difficult to try marching and dancing, since I don’t have the left, so it was suggested that I exaggerate the movements on my right leg, and it’s worked out,” she said.

On Jan. 2, the band performed a charity concert in La Palma at the Kennedy High School Performance Arts Center, with donations set to benefit schools in the Houston area severely affected by Hurricane Harvey.

Photos by MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS/Rafu Shimpo
http://www.rafu.com/2018/01/never-miss-a-single-step/

もう一つの記事がこちら
二紙が同一の記事を掲載しているので系列紙でしょうか。

Japanese student with prosthetic leg to perform with Rose Parade marching band

Hitomi Kanamaru performs with the Kyoto Tachibana High School Band in Japan. (Courtesy of Emiko Christensen)

By JASON HENRY | jhenry@scng.com | Pasadena Star News
PUBLISHED: December 18, 2017 at 2:43 pm | UPDATED: December 18, 2017 at 2:57 pm

Nearly 200 Japanese students from Kyoto Tachibana High School will get a chance to perform in the Rose Parade this year, including one student with a prosthetic leg who will march the entire 5 1/2-mile route.

Hitomi Kanamaru, a senior at the high school, was born missing part of her leg, but she refused to let that stop her from performing in the marching band, according to Emiko Christensen, the U.S. program director for the Green Band Association, which has brought Japanese high school bands to the Rose Parade for the last decade.

Don’t be surprised if it’s hard to pick Kanamaru out of the crowd; she’s worked hard to perfect her performance, Christensen said in an email. The students practice about four hours a day, Monday through Friday, Christensen said.

It’s the second year the 192-member Koyoto Tachibana High band has appeared at the Rose Bowl. The students will begin practicing in the parking lot at Angels Stadium in Anaheim the day after Christmas and continue every day until the Rose Parade. On Jan. 2, they will perform a charity benefit concert at the Kennedy High School Performance Arts Center in La Palma to raise money for schools impacted by this year’s hurricanes.

https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2017/12/18/japanese-student-with-prosthetic-leg-to-perform-with-rose-parade-marching-band/
https://www.ocregister.com/2017/12/18/japanese-student-with-prosthetic-leg-to-perform-with-rose-parade-marching-band/

Rafu Shimpo(羅府新報)日本語版での報道をYoutubeにて紹介されていました。

ニックネームが同じクララなので彼女のことがまるで自分のように誇らしく感じます。
彼女は現在は高校を卒業して進学していると思われるので、今後橘高校関連の動画で観られなくなるのが寂しく感じます。

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