Narration Narration Narration Narration & Pictures & Pictures & Pictures & Pictures for the ACWDA 2007 Hall of Fame Speechfor the ACWDA 2007 Hall of Fame Speechfor the ACWDA 2007 Hall of Fame Speechfor the ACWDA 2007 Hall of Fame Speech

She was born on August 5

th, 1954 in Indiana and grew up in a small town with her parents

and 3 siblings, then went on to college in Indiana. As she jokingly puts it, she “did

a 20-year home stay in the U.S.” when she was young.

She became interested in Japan when she was in college and came over for her junior

year, attending Waseda University for a year. She was interested in Japanese handicrafts

and weaving, and went on an independent study program to a zen temple in Nara. It was

there that she met the person who would literally change her life, her husband-to-be

Takashi.

After returning to the U.S. to graduate from college, she returned to Japan, married

Takashi, who is a potter, and they now live together in Tajimi City, Gifu Prefecture.

In Tajimi, her desire to try new things and zest for life surfaced. She studied various

traditional Japanese arts such as ikebana, tea ceremony, the koto, the shamisen, and

even played the drums for Japanese bon dancing, for which she was much in demand.

At the age of 30, she started square dancing. At the time, she had to commute an hour

to the nearest square dance club, and so she decided to form her own club in Tajimi,

which is still going strong. Through square dancing, she also became interested in round

dancing and clogging, and this put her on the path of a lifetime love affair with dancing.

In 1993, she first learned about C/W dancing. It started out as something to do as a

demonstration at their National Square Dance Convention, but they decided that they

liked it so much that they would form a separate club, and 32 members got together to

start “Nagoya Crazy Feet”.

Even as she continues to be involved in square dancing, and works as a round dance cuer,

she slowly became more and more deeply involved in C/W dancing.

She is the main instructor for Nagoya Crazy Feet, and this year they will be holding

their 14

th annual Crazy Country Dance Festival event. They have brought over such

well-known international instructors as Scott Blevins, Jo Thompson, Greg Underwood,

Maggie Gallagher, Rachael McEnaney and Paul McAdam from Masters In Line, Michael Barr

& Michele Burton, and Barry & Dari Anne Amato. She has had a very strong influence on

the C/W dance scene in Japan, especially in central Japan.

Almost every year, she takes a group of dancers from Japan to attend some big dance

event in the U.S., and in addition to letting the world know more about the dance scene

in Japan, she has become friends with many dancers and instructors worldwide.

In 1999, she joined the JLDA (Japan Line Dance Association) where she is an executive

director, and works to instruct not only dancers but other instructors as well, and

strives to be a unifying force in the line dance scene throughout Japan.

It is no understatement to say that she is well-known in the dance community worldwide.

Martha Ogasawara. The source of her attraction for others is not only because she is

an excellent instructor and leader, but also because her personality is as bright as

the sun, she is fun-loving and funny, loves to play tricks and cares deeply about the

people around her.

In recognition of and as thanks for her many years as a leader in the Japan C/W dance

world, we hereby induct her into the Hall of Fame.