KYOTO, April 4 -- Against a backdrop of blooming cherry blossoms, a group of geishas elegantly shuffle onto a stage in Japan's Kyoto city to begin a centuries-old performance celebrating the arrival of spring.

Dressed in sky blue kimonos emblazoned with flowers, the dancers twist and twirl in unison in front of hundreds of spectators eager to see the annual "Miyako Odori" in the nation's spectacular ancient capital.

Geishas, known as geikos in Kyoto, and apprentices called maikos have been donning elaborate costumes and fluttering fans since the Miyako Odori - or "capital city dance" - first started in 1872.

"Just as cherry blossoms bloom when spring approaches, the Miyako Odori is a spring tradition in Kyoto," Kyoko Sugiura, head of t...