Guggenheim Museum and Japan Society Present SANBASO, 3/28 & 29

Internationally renowned artist Hiroshi Sugimoto and acclaimed kyogen actor Mansai Nomura create a site-specific version of Sanbaso, one of the oldest dance pieces in the highly stylized stage art traditions of noh and kyogen, which date back more than six hundred years. With its origins in an ancient ritual ceremony, Sanbaso is a prayer to the gods for a bountiful harvest and is traditionally performed by a kyogen actor.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Gutai: Splendid Playground, currently on view, this production of Sanbaso is a tribute to the stage performance Ultramodern Sanbaso (1957) by Shiraga Kazuo, one of the leading figures of Japan's avant-garde Gutai movement. Drawing inspiration from traditional Sanbaso's rituals and blessings, Shiraga's historic Ultramodern Sanbaso was the opening act of Gutai Art on the Stage, ostensibly blessing the event that expanded Gutai's creativity into the realm of performance art. Accompanied by traditional noh musicians, Mansai Nomura will perform SANBASO, divine dance in the Guggenheim's Frank Lloyd Wright-designed rotunda with a Contemporary Stage set and costumes designed by Hiroshi Sugimoto.

Performances are Thursday, March 28, 2 and 8 pm, and Friday, March 29, 8 pm. Seated tickets are $50, $45 members, $25 students; standing tickets are $30, $25 members, $15 students. The performance lasts 35-40 minutes.

Tickets may be purchased at guggenheim.org/sanbaso or through the Guggenheim Box Office at 212 423 3587. For more information about the performance or the artists, visit guggenheim.org/sanbaso. A video about the production is available on the Guggenheim's YouTube channel at youtube.com/guggenheim.