Japan Society Announces 2011-12 Performing Arts Season

Japan Society's Fall 2011/Spring 2012 Performing Arts Season kicks off in September with the Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC) production of Medea and continues with two not-to-be-missed music events: J-Music Ride featuring Cibo Matto & Yu Sakai (October), and Turntable Duo: Otomo Yoshihide + Christian Marclay (November) which is part of Performa 11.

In January, Japan Society presents two exciting theatrical productions as part of The Public Theater's Under the Radar Festival 2012: The Bee (a co-production with the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre and London's Soho Theatre) and chelfitsch Theater Company's Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech. Next in the theatrical arena comes a staged reading of Yukio Shiba's Our Planet, directed by 2010 Obie award winner Alec Duffy as part of the ongoing Play Reading Series: Contemporary Japanese Plays in English Translation (February).

Spring ushers in two premier dance events: Kabuki Dance featuring the famed traditional Japanese dancer Bando Kotoji with live musicians (March), and Bessie Award winner Kota Yamazaki/Fluid Hug-Hug's (glowing) (April), arriving at Japan Society as part of its world premiere tour (co-commissioned by Japan Society and The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC)), as well as the hotly-anticipated annual Spring open house event j-CATION, offering a full day of events, performances, workshops, food and drinks, all organized around a specific theme (last year, j-CATION was reorganized as the all-day Concert For Japan, which raised over $88,000 for the Japan Earthquake Relief Fund).

Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC): Medea
Friday, September 23* & Saturday, September 24 at 7:30 PM, Sunday, September 25 at 5:00 PM
*followed by a members-only MetLife Meet-the-Artists Reception
Tickets: $32/$25 Japan Society members
Reinterpreted and directed by Satoshi Miyagi, celebrated Artistic Director of SPAC and successor to the legendary Tadashi Suzuki, Medea makes its North American premiere. Miyagi's Medea is a visual feast on the scale of a kabuki play. Transforming Euripides' masterpiece into a play-within-a-play, the story is set in a late 19th-century traditional Japanese restaurant, where male members of the establishment call upon the female waitresses for entertainment. Performed with live musical accompaniment and incorporating Miyagi's signature bunraku puppet theater-inspired style that utilizes two actors per role -- one to speak and one to move -- the classic Greek tragedy takes on new life revealed through the lens of Japan's imperialist, gender-divided late Meiji era. Featuring a cast of 19, this internationally acclaimed production has appeared in 20 cities and 11 countries since its premiere in 1999. Performed in Japanese with English subtitles.

CIBO MATTO and YU SAKAI: J-Music Ride
Thursday, October 20
Doors/Bar Open at 7:00 PM; Show at 8:00 PM
$25 ($20 for Japan Society Members)
Advance, reserved seat tickets available by calling 212-715-1258
Sharp and whimsically irreverent Japanese expats Miho Hatori (vocals, drum pad) and Yuka Honda (keyboard, sampler) take the stage at Japan Society for the first time ever as the iconic duo Cibo Matto. After a considerable band hiatus, New York's acclaimed downtown duo is back and better than ever! Their charming lyrics buoy a dizzying array of sounds influenced by everything from hip-hop, jazz and rock to African and Brazilian beats. Yu Sakai, the silky-voiced keyboardist/singer-songwriter and Japanese breakout star makes his international debut tonight at Japan Society. With R&B beats and jazz-fused J-Pop melodies, Sakai's music is an inventive blend of self-mixed instrumentation and multi-layered vocals. This Tokyo native became an overnight sensation in Japan, topping radio charts with his first single in 2009 and winning iTunes' 2010 Best J-Pop Album of the year award with his debut album. Downtown New York collides with modish Shibuya in this one-night-only music mash up. Don't miss this rare opportunity to see Cibo Matto live at the intimate, seated Japan Society auditorium. File Under: Rock, Pop, R&B.

OTOMO YOSHIHIDE and CHRISTIAN MARCLAY: Turntable Duo
Saturday, November 19
Discussion with the Artists at 5:00 PM
Doors/Bar Open at 6:30 PM; Show at 8:30 PM
Discussion: $10 ($8 for Japan Society Members)
Concert: $25 ($20 for Japan Society Members)
Discussion/Concert Combo: $30 ($24 for Japan Society Members)
Advance, reserved seat tickets available by calling 212-715-1258
Two experimental music giants, Otomo Yoshihide and Christian Marclay, perform together in New York for the first time in over a decade. Multi-media composer and visual artist, Christian Marclay, one of the world's leading artists and winner of the 54th Venice Biennale Golden Lion Award, pushed the boundaries of musical creation when he pioneered the use of the turntable as a musical instrument. Otomo Yoshihide, electroacoustic improvisation musician, free jazz guitarist and one of the most influential figures in Japan's experimental music scene, earned an international reputation as a central figure in Japan's avant-garde music scene. Together, using nothing but turntables, the pair explores the possibilities of music. Turntable Duo is presented as part of the Performa 11 biennial. File under: Experimental, Turntablism, Improvisational Jazz.

PRIOR TO THE SHOW: A Discussion with Christian Marclay, Otomo Yoshihide and Alan Licht
In an exploration of their artistic careers, Christian Marclay and Otomo Yoshihide are joined by musician, writer and curator Alan Licht. Together, they examine the past, present and future of avant-garde music movements in Japan, America and across the globe.

RELATED EVENTS: Otomo Yoshihide's Installation Without Records with Records
Open Thursday, November 17 through Sunday, November 20
FREE and open to the public
Otomo's computer operated installation -- a series of empty turntables set up to produce a variety of sounds -- created as an homage to Christian Marclay and exhibited at museums and galleries throughout Japan in recent years, is on view in Japan Society's public space for New Yorkers to see and hear.

Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre / Soho Theatre, London: The Bee
Thurs, Jan. 5 at 8:45 PM / Fri, Jan. 6 & Sat, Jan. 7 at 7:00 PM / Sun, Jan. 8 at 2:30 PM
Mon, Jan. 9, Weds, Jan. 11, Thurs, Jan. 12, Fri, Jan. 13 at 7:45 PM
Sat, Jan. 14 at 7:00 PM / Sun, Jan. 15 at 2:30 PM
Tickets: $25/$20 Japan Society members
Manga comic-strip-like frenzy turns into a thought-provoking nightmare in Hideki Noda's The Bee, co-written by Hideki Noda and Colin Teevan and inspired by a story by Yasutaka Tsutsui. This gripping production, which excited London's theater community when it premiered at the Soho Theatre in 2006, tells the tale of an ordinary Japanese salaryman who turns savage after returning home to discover that his wife and son have been taken hostage. Conceived by one of Japan's most popular playwrights/directors Hideki Noda, The Bee draws "links between comedy and pain, beauty and cruelty," (Financial Times). Within a minimalist set and an eerily beautiful soundtrack, the cast, composed of four members including the director himself and Olivier-award winning actress Kathryn Hunter, seamlessly shift between characters. The Bee is presented as part of The Public Theater's Under the Radar Festival 2012. Performed in English.

chelfitsch Theater Company: Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech
Thurs, Jan. 5 at 7:00 PM / Fri, Jan. 6 at 8:45 PM / Sat, Jan. 7 at 3 & 9 PM / Sun, Jan. 8 at 5 PM
Mon, Jan. 9, Thurs, Jan. 12, Fri, Jan. 13 at 8:00 PM / Sat, Jan. 14 at 9:00 PM
Tickets: $22/$18 Japan Society members
In response to the buzz generated by their U.S. debut at Japan Society in 2009, chelfitsch Theater Company returns to perform Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech, the quirky triptych created by the internationally acclaimed playwright/director Toshiki Okada. Characterized by seemingly insubstantial narrative accompanied by exaggerated fidgeting gestures-turned-choreography, the groundbreaking works of chelfitsch have drawn global recognition, making them a much talked-about theater company in Japan and abroad. Okada captures the empty and ungrounded nature of Generation Y in Japan today through three humorously absurd office space exchanges. Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner and the Farewell Speech is presented as part of The Public Theater's Under the Radar Festival 2012. In Japanese with English subtitles.

Play Reading Series: Our Planet
Monday, February 6 at 7:30 PM
Tickets: $10/$8 Japan Society members
For Japan Society's 7th presentation of the ongoing project: Play Reading - Contemporary Japanese Plays in English Translation, New York-based director Alec Duffy, Obie Award winner and founder of the critically acclaimed Hoi Polloi theater company leads a cast of American actors. This year's play is the young Japanese playwright Yukio Shiba's Our Planet, a tale that juxtaposes the minutia of an average Japanese family's life with the galactic events of the Earth's birth and death. Inspired by Thornton Wilder's Our Town, Shiba's Our Planet won the most prestigious Kishida Kunio Drama Award in 2010. For this reading, playwright Yukio Shiba joins the actors live from Japan through Japan Society's digital streaming system.

Kabuki Dance / co-presented with The Japan Foundation
Thursday, March 29 & Friday March 30 at 7:30 pm; Saturday, March 31 at 2:30 pm
TICKETS GO ON SALE: October 1 (Japan Society members); December 1 (Non-members)
TICKETS: $50 / $40 Japan Society members
SPECIAL OPENING NIGHT TICKETS: $75 / $55; Japan Society members, includes prime seating and private MetLife Meet-the-Artists Reception. Limited availability
Encounter the elegant and refined art form of nihon buyo, a style of Japanese traditional dance borrowed from and inspired by Kabuki Theater's repertoire and originally developed out of other traditional dance forms. Nihon buyo became popular among theater professionals as well as commoners during the early 19th century, when the shogunate ruled Japan. The program is led by the famed master dancer Bando Kotoji with accompaniment from live musicians on shamisen and percussion. From his vast repertoire, Kotoji has selected three vibrant dances for this kabuki dance program including the celebratory Manzai dance; the dramatic and tragic dance Tamatori Ama (Pearl-Diving Woman) about a woman in search of her son; and Yoshino-yama (Yoshino Mountain), an excerpt from the famous kabuki play Yoshitsune Senbon-zakura, Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees, with its story set on the mountain famous for its magnificent cherry blossoms.

Related Event: Pre-Performance Lecture one hour before performance. Free to ticketholders.

The Kabuki Dance program, co-presented with The Japan Foundation, is part of a month of programming at Japan Society dedicated to cherry blossoms, and includes programs in the performing arts, a film series, lectures and much more. The Japan Society-organized, five-city North American tour is co-produced by Japan Society and The Japan Foundation.

Kota Yamazaki/Fluid Hug-Hug: (glowing)
Friday, April 27 & Saturday, April 28 at 7:30 PM
Tickets: $25/$20 Japan Society members
Downtown New York's noteworthy contemporary choreographer Kota Yamazaki (2007 Bessie Award winner) premieres his newest work (glowing), co-commissioned by Japan Society and EMPAC. Inspired by the great modern day novelist Jun'ichiro Tanizaki's essay In'ei Raisan (In Praise of Shadows), which describes Japan's appreciation of the refined beauty only found in darkness and shadows, Yamazaki re-examines the fundamentals of butoh, the art form in which he received his training. In an unparalleled collaboration with 2 African dancers from Ethiopia and Senegal, American architect Robert Kocik, lighting designer Kathy Kaufmann and Tokyo-based composer Kohji Setoh, a total of six international dancers perform within a set constructed to evoke the soft lighting and dim interior of a traditional Japanese house.

MEET THE ARTISTS: WORKSHOPS (At Japan Society Unless Otherwise Noted)

OFF-SITE EVENT
Theater Movement Workshop with Satoshi Miyagi / co-presented with Dance New Amsterdam
Saturday, September 24, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM, with discussion: 12:45 - 1:45 PM
Tickets: $20/$16 Japan Society members
Contact: www.dnadance.org or 212-227-9856
Celebrated SPAC Artistic Director Satoshi Miyagi leads an exploratory workshop of his theater movement method, which incorporates elements of the legendary Suzuki Method together with his own unique techniques. Off-site location: Dance New Amsterdam, 280 Broadway. In conjunction with Shizuoka Performing Arts Center's Medea at Japan Society.

Eiko & Koma: Delicious Movement Workshop & Talk
Saturday, December 3, 1:00 - 5:00 PM
Tickets: Workshop & Talk (1:00 - 5:00 PM) $40/$32 Japan Society members; Talk only (4:00 - 5:00 PM)/Observer (1:00 - 5:00 PM): $8/$6 Japan Society members
As part of Eiko & Koma's three year Retrospective Project, a nation-wide celebration of their artistry, the MacArthur "Genius" Fellows return to Japan Society for their one-of-a-kind movement workshop and post-workshop talk. Guiding participants through a series of exercises designed to increase focus and coordination as well as pleasure in movement, this workshop is for anyone who loves to move or wants to love to move. The session concludes with a talk about the couple's remarkable 40 years of artistic ingenuity.

Workshop for Theater & Dance Professionals with Toshiki Okada
Saturday, January 14, 1:00 - 4:00 PM
Tickets: $38/$28 Japan Society members
Visionary playwright/director/choreographer and founder of the red-hot theater company chelfitsch, Toshiki Okada leads an intensive workshop for choreographers, dancers and physical theater artists. Okada, whose award winning production Five Days in March debuted at Japan Society in 2009, has become one of the most talked-about theater artist worldwide. Okada introduces his characteristic theater techniques and everyday gesture movements of fidgets and twitches, to expand the conventional vocabularies of theater and dance.
Maximum 15 people. Performance or directing experience required. In conjunction with chelfitsch Theater Company's Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech. NOTE: Observer tickets may be available for these workshops after regular tickets have sold out.

The Body & The Native Land: Butoh & African Dance Workshops with Kota Yamazaki
Workshop 1: Tuesday, April 24 5:30 - 8:30 PM
Workshop 2: Saturday, April 28 1:00 - 4:00 PM
Single workshop ticket: $25/$20 Japan Society members
Pass for two workshops: $45/$35 Japan Society members
New York-based butoh-trained choreographer Kota Yamazaki is joined by two dancers from Africa, Shiferaw Tariku (Ethiopia) and Marie Agnes Gomis (Senegal), for this unique pairing of workshops. In Workshop 1, Yamazaki focuses on the fundamentals of butoh while in Workshop 2, he is joined by African dancers to guide participants through The Common threads found between butoh and African dance. Inspired by the creative process of his newest work (glowing), Yamazaki offers a special opportunity to explore these dance styles and to experience his choreographic philosophy. Max 15 people. No dance experience necessary. In conjunction with Kota Yamazaki/Fluid Hug-Hug's (glowing). NOTE: Observer tickets may be available for these workshops after regular tickets have sold out.

Since the inception of the Performing Arts Program in 1953, Japan Society has introduced more than 600 of Japan's finest performing arts to an extensive American audience. Programs range from the traditional arts of noh, kyogen, bunraku and kabuki to cutting-Edge Theater, dance and music. The Program also commissions new works, produces national tours, organizes residency programs for American and Japanese artists and develops and distributes educational programs. "At once diverse and daring, the program stands toe to toe with some of the most comprehensive cultural exchange endeavors today" (Back Stage).

Founded in 1907, Japan Society is a world-class, multidisciplinary hub for global leaders, artists, scholars, educators, and English and Japanese-speaking audiences. At the Society, more than 100 events each year feature sophisticated, topically relevant presentations of Japanese art and culture and open, critical dialogue on issues of vital importance to the U.S., Japan and East Asia. An American nonprofit, nonpolitical organization, the Society cultivates a constructive, resonant and dynamic relationship between the people of the U.S. and Japan.

Tickets & Information: Tickets can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 212-715-1258 or in person at Japan Society (M-F 11:00 AM-6:00 PM and Sat-Sun 11:00 AM-5:00 PM). Japan Society is located at 333 East 47th Street, between First and Second Avenues (accessible by the 4/5/6 at 42nd Street-Grand Central Station or the E and V at Lexington Avenue and 53rd Street). For tickets or more information, call the box office or visit www.japansociety.org. For more information call 212-832-1155 or visit the website.

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