Performances
The performances listed below can help students meet the "response"
portion of the MN standard for the Arts. Teaching resources are available,
including an assessment package and lesson
plans.
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More than 300 years old, Kabuki is a traditional Japanese theatrical
form with elaborate costumes and make-up that offers a rich and visually stimulating introduction to the culture of Japan. It will be performed by artists from Nagoya Musume Kabuki, the first all-female troupe in what until recently has been an all-male art form. Leading members of the troupe are Ouka Ichikawa, Misuya Ichikawa, and Mitushi Ichikawa. (More info...)
Four outstanding string-instrument
players from the Minnesota Orchestra --Aaron Janse & Tai Chi Chen,
violins, SiFei Cheng, viola, and Sachiya Isomura, 'cello --will take us
on a tour of the string quartet, playing works by the German Johann Sebastian
Bach, the Austrian Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and the Russian Alexander
Borodin, and the French Maurice Revel, and introducing us to their instruments
and how they work. The performance will be hosted by Gary Alan Wood, Education
and Outreach Manager of the Minnesota Orchestra. (For more on the Orchestra,
including its "virtual tour" of Japan, visit http://www.mnorch.org.)
NAGOYA
MUSUME KABUKI
Nagoya, Japan
MINNESOTA
ORCHESTRA STRING QUARTET
Gary Alan Wood, narrator -- Minneapolis
Convention Center
View Performance (10/12/98)
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JAMES SEWELL
BALLET & JANE SHOCKLEY Ballet & modern dance/contact improvisation -- Minneapolis Convention Center |
One of the Midwest's leading dance companies, James Sewell Ballet (http://www.jsballet.org) will perform and discuss excerpts from a new "cartoon" ballet and from Sewell's Prestigitations, a dance which features several classic magic tricks as well as ragtime music by Scott Joplin. Noted modern dancer Jane Shockley, a founding member of the Zenon Dance Company who now teaches at the University of Minnesota and Carleton College, will follow with an athletic piece, done in silence, that uses a mini-trampoline.
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GRUPO DE CAPOEIRA "13 de maio" Sao Paulo, Brazil |
Described as a "mischievous" art form, capoeira originated among the
slaves of Brazil. (The name derives from a small partridge that engages
in fierce fights with its rivals.) It blends elements of dance, music,
ritual, acrobatics, and the martial arts (some pieces are done with blades
or sticks). Officially banned in Brazil until the 1920s, it is now practiced
in elementary schools, universities, special clubs, and military academies. The "13th of May" Capoeira Group of Sao Paulo, which includes students as young as six, takes its name from the date in 1888 on which the Brazilian slaves were freed; it is led by Ademir Ferreira (also known as "Mestre Piaba" -- capoeira practitioners are given a new name as part of their initiation into the discipline). (For more on capoeira, visit http://www.capoeira.com)
View Performance (10/13/98)
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JERRIE
STEELE of Penumbra Theater Minneapolis Convention Center |
African-American writer/actress/storyteller
Jerrie Steele, of St. Paul's nationally-acclaimed Penumbra Theater (http://www.bitstream.net/theatre/pen.htm),
tells an original, traditionally-inspired tale -- featuring masks and
drumming (by young percussionist Quaylon Crawford) -- that explores perceptions
of beauty and the relationships between peoples. Ms. Steele will also
provide insight into how a performer creates a character using voice,
gesture, props, and other theatrical resources. View Performance (10/13/98)
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Well-known to audiences in his native Quebec and in France, Alain Lamontagne
plays the mouth organ while accompanying himself with his feet (a traditional
practice known as "podo-rhythm," or foot-rhythm). He is also a poet, composer,
and singer, and has developed an electronic (MIDI) version of his foot-operated
instrument that shows how up-to-date technology can be combined with a
traditional art form. Through a combination of music and stories (in French,
with translation), Lamontagne will present a sound-portrait of his homeland
and people. View Performance (10/13/98)
For more information about Alain Lamontagne, please contact his agent:
Danielle Clouatre
839 Davaar Street
Outremont, Quebec Canada
H2V 3B4
Tel: 514-271-5444
Fax: 514-271-5397