Asian Culture Night 2013

Saturday, April 6, 2013, 7 pm to 9:30 pm
Apollo Room, Student Union
Audience: 
Current Students
Faculty
Staff

Asian Culture Night 2013…a night of cultural explorASIAN through the performing arts!

Join us for a rare, behind-the-scenes look into the world of the Japanese Kabuki artist at this year’s Asian Culture Night special feature “Kabuki and Onnagata: The Making of a Woman.” Maki Isaka, Associate Professor of Asian Languages and Literature at the University of Minnesota, will give a pre-performance introduction. The tradition of employing onnagata, male actors who play women’s roles, began when the Japanese government banned women from the Kabuki stage in 1629.

Kabuki actor, Nakamura Gankyo, will demonstrate how he transforms himself for his female role in this traditional form of Japanese theater. After applying make-up and a wig, his metamorphosis will be complete when he dresses in the elaborate layers of a kimono. In full costume, he will demonstrate the feminized movements and other techniques from the onnagata’s repertoire by performing the dance, Kane ga Misaki.

The Asian Culture Night also consists of traditional ethnic folk dances and an elaborate fashion show.

Free Admission

The Asian Culture Night’s special feature “Kabuki & Onnagata: The Making of a Woman” is partially funded by a grant from the Japan Foundation, New York.

For information, contact
Mia Honaker
Administrative Specialist
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