The Nippon Domannaka Matsuri is the biggest dance festival in Japan's central Chubu region, and ranks among the largest in the entire country. This high-energy event takes place annually in the city of Nagoya over a four-day period in the summer heat of late August. This year's festival ran from August 23 through 26.

"Domannaka" means "right in the middle," and it refers to Nagoya's location in the geographical center of Japan. Affectionately nicknamed "Domatsuri," the competition draws dance teams from all over the country, and even from overseas. In 1999, the first year the event was held, 26 teams comprising around 1,500 dancers took part. Since then the festival has grown to over 200 teams and more than 20,000 dancers. This year, the 20th anniversary of Domatsuri, some 23,000 dancers making up 210 teams competed in performances at 23 venues set up around the city, including public parks, plazas, temple grounds, and even busy streets closed to traffic for the occasion. In all, these performances drew an estimated two million spectators.

The competition's rules are simple:

- The music that each team uses must include a local folk song.
- The number of members on a team had should be kept to no more than 150 persons. (Team members include not just the dancers, but also callers, banner-bearers and flag-wavers, and any players of musical instruments.)
- The length of each performance must be no longer than four minutes.

The performances themselves are of two types: stage-style, where the dancing takes place in a fixed space of set size, and parade-style, where each team of dancers follows a moving vehicle that plays the troupe's music.

Even within these parameters, the styles of dance vary widely and demonstrate a high degree of originality and local pride, and range from traditional forms of dance to the most modern of avant-garde. The short performance times also make for an even more exciting and fast-paced event, with ever-changing patterns of color, motion, and music throughout the city.

The composition of the individual teams is also quite diverse: high-school dance clubs, college classmates, dancing schools, professional troupes, local neighborhood associations, and many others. The one thing that all have in common is a love of dance!

One local dance unit that has been an enthusiastic participant in Domatsuri since 2013 is Team Midoritchi, whose members are adults and children living in the Midori-ku, one of the 16 wards that make up the city of Nagoya.

The team is named after Midoritchi, who is Midori-ku's official ward mascot – and also one of the dancing performers on Team Midoritchi.

The men, women, and children who are the other members of Team Midoritchi number around 50, and they range in age from three to 86. Many of the dancers have been with the team since its inception, and take part in Domatsuri every year. A varied group of preschoolers, students, working men and women, and retirees, they all have two things in common: they live in Midori-ku, and they're dedicated to putting on the best performance possible in a fun demonstration of local pride.

Preparing for the event takes weeks of practice, with sessions held in the evenings after work or school, and on weekends. Staff members from the local ward office help provide guidance and support, and some also take part in the performances themselves.

At this year's Domatsuri, Team Midoritchi participated during the weekend portion of the event, with a stage performance and two parade appearances on Saturday, and three stage shows and one parade performance on Sunday.

Another member of the team is Midori-ku resident Sophie Frederick. Sophie is seven years old and has danced at the festival every year since 2014, when she was three. She says her favorite part of dancing in the festival is getting to spend time with her friends.

Also, on hand to cheer Sophie on was her dad, American Chris Frederick.

Team Midoritchi didn't make it to the winner's circle this year, but that didn't much matter – all who took part had a terrific time, and everyone – Sophie included – is already looking forward to next year!