Dance doesn’t get lost in translation. Neither do music, marionettes, or manga (Japanese animation art). More of a challenge for Westerners are the Japanese theatrical conventions of Noh and Butoh, both part of the Kennedy Center’s “Japan! Culture + Hyper Culture” festival.
Noh, which combines rhythmic dance and classical Japanese literature, is represented in the Opera House February 7, 8, and 9 by Yukio Ninagawa’s Shintoku-Maru, the story of a boy and his stepmother. Tickets are $15 to $55.
Butoh is an avant-garde performance art started in the 1960s. Its most notable practitioner is the dance company Sankai Juku, performing in the Opera House February 12 and 13. Tickets are $15 to $55.
Other highlights of the festival:
• The Kyogen of Errors (kyogen is traditional Japanese comedy) is based on Shakespeare’s tale of two sets of twins separated at birth. February 13 and 14 in the Terrace Theater; tickets are $40.
• Midori—the Japanese-born, Juilliard-trained violinist with a big sound—performs music by Ravel, Debussy, and Takemitsu with the Miró Quartet. February 14 in the Family Theater; tickets are $50.
• The New National Theatre Ballet of Tokyo performs a mixed repertory February 15 and the evening-long dance Raymonda, with choreography by Asami Maki after Marius Petipa, February 16 and 17; tickets are $30 to $70.
The festival isn’t confined to performing arts. The Kennedy Center’s atrium will be turned into a gallery for architecture, sculpture, screens, lacquerware, photography, textiles, fashion, even pearls. Don’t be surprised if you run into a few robots—they’ll be on display in the Nations Gallery throughout the festival and will put on six free shows daily February 7 to 17.
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