Remember when I found out that Koyō had once worn my maiko hikizuri? Well, the owner of those photos, emusing-emma was kind enough to upload the video she took of Koyō and Wakana dancing! It’s pretty short (only 7 seconds long), but I finally get to see my hiki in action! 
You can view the video here
You can tell from the clip and the photos that they are dancing the “Gion Kouta”, which is a traditional dance about how much the singer loves Gion maiko. (You can read the lyrics and translation at this site) The woman you can hear vocalizing the lyrics in the background is most likely a jikata geiko, and she is singing in a special stylized manner. (Which is why it might sound strange at first.) 
Each district has its own way of dancing Gion Kouta…maiko in Miyagawa-cho dance it differently than those in Gion Kobu, for example. Koyō and Wakana are both from Gion Kobu, so the style in which they are dancing it is known as “Kyomai”, or “Kyoto-style.” This particular style of dance is characterized by its subtle, minimalistic movements. I think it adds a certain grace, although I also enjoy dances with more flair.
I am really excited and thankful that emusing-emma uploaded this for me! Thank you very much! (To see the photos she has uploaded of the dance, click here)
awesome! when do we get to see you wear it?
Well, I plan on buying the kanzashi this May, but I still need to save up for oshiroi makeup, juban fabric,and some plain okobo. I’m also on the lookout for a maiko haneri and obiage. So, just as soon as I can afford/find them! ^^ My goal is, with all luck, to have a complete set by next year.
The obiage you might have to make yourself, and the only maiko haneri I’ve seen lately are about $200 apiece. Can you embroider? It isn’t too hard to learn, and with some practice, you can get silk threads (including kinran) from RyuJapan-99 and make your own with a plain red silk haneri. Which is exactly what I intend to do.
What I really want is benihana right now. A long, long time ago geisha wore it, but now, a jar is about $200. o.X I’m still getting down a technique to fake it! Good luck with the oshiroi. Where are you getting it? Hannari-ya?
I recently lost a maiko haneri on YJA, which ended up selling for 48000 yen, or about $600 USD. It was a senior maiko haneri, so not the right seniority level for my henshin, but I still wanted to go for it. It went to another girl on the IG forums though, which means at least I get to see it again, so I’m not so sad about losing it. They show up every once in a while, from what I’ve seen the past few years they come up for sale about every 6 months or so.
I’ve never embroidered before, despite having bought supplies several times to motivate myself to make a haneri lol.
I even bought the gold threads and red haneri. I am just a very, very lazy person haha. I probably will end up making my own haneri, although I’d still go after the real one when it shows up again. You have to post about it when you start the project, maybe it will motivate me! 
I read your post about benihana, very informative! I wasn’t aware that it was so expensive though….wow. I’ll keep my eye out for it on YJA, sometimes you can get good deals. Would you happen to know the kanji for it?
And yup, I plan on getting the set from hannari-ya, since they’re the easiest store to get everything from. They’re expensive though too, so it’ll be a while before I can buy it.
Hey! I wanted to update, since I found a cheaper source for the benihana. Hannari-ya on Ebay has some. I haven’t bought any yet to check the quality, but it comes in a seashell with a small lip brush. You can see the green/red shift shine on it, and it comes in two different intensities.
And because I’m lazy (and also, I have three jobs now + cats and stuff to take care of) I haven’t been doing any embroidering. Heck, I haven’t even been blogging. I’ve taken up learning sashiko first to get down stitch evenness and other basics first, though, when I do have the time and motivation! Hopefully by the end of the year I can work up to proper embroidery!