Oz Arts Nashville Opens 14th Season With Tokyo-Based Company Kedagoro,

Contemporary arts center OZ Arts Nashville launches their 14th season of thrilling, innovative performances from around the world with Japanese dance-theater company KEDAGORO for two nights only, Saturday and Sunday, November 14 & 15.

The company's latest work, The Age is Yours, My Liege! (A Tale of Proto-Japan), vividly captures the hierarchy and occasional hilarity of the early days of the emperorship in Japan - including colorful costumes and an oversized hamster wheel used by the performers to dramatic effect. OZ Arts marks the final stop on the company's first-ever U.S. tour, showcasing the latest work from rising dance world star (and notably 'rebellious' performance-maker) Reisa Shimojima, whose eccentric and highly visual style has earned her many accolades across Asia for being both visually outrageous and irresistibly thought-provoking.

Among the startling theatrical images in this wildly imaginative dance-theater spectacle, fairytale empresses race through a whirlwind of flags and symbols while occasionally taking turns on a giant spinning hamster wheel that takes them nowhere. In The Age is Yours, My Liege! (A Tale of Proto-Japan), acclaimed Japanese director and choreographer Reisa Shimojima and the fearless performers of her KEDAGORO group conjure a world where power is performed, myths become institutions, and obedience teeters on the edge of absurdity. Blending kinetic choreography with surreal theatricality and biting humor, this thrilling, eccentric new work questions who creates authority, why societies choose to follow it, and what happens when long-held systems begin to crumble.

One of the most exciting new voices in Asian performing arts, Reisa Shimojima creates boundary-pushing works rooted in her belief that 'dance is a method for interpreting the world.' Often dissecting and recreating distinct moments in Japanese history, her rebellious artistic vision confronts entrenched systems with equal parts wit and spectacle, inviting audiences to look beyond the pageantry of power and imagine what lies beneath. Her previous works have confronted moments of national tragedy and importance, complicated gender dynamics, and collective power. With The Age is Yours, My Liege!, Shimojima and her talented company of long-time collaborators and performers switch between fact and fiction to provide an entirely fresh angle on Japanese history and its modern identity.

'KEDAGORO's vibrant work jumps off the stage in a way that demands to be seen,' said Mark Murphy, OZ Arts Executive and Artistic Director. 'We are honored to host the company in Nashville on their first U.S. tour. Visionary artist Reisa Shimojima will delight, inspire, and energize audiences who are curious about urgent international breakthroughs in contemporary art and performance.'

Tickets to The Age is Yours, My Liege (A Tale of Proto-Japan) at OZ Arts Nashville start at just $35 and are on sale now via this link. Tickets for Artists & Creative Community start at just $25. The performance is recommended for mature audiences as it contains partial nudity and adult themes.

TICKETS & MORE INFORMATION

Performances:
Saturday, November 14 at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, November 15 at 5:00 p.m.

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