“Carnival China Style” U.S. tour showcases old and new culture from all over China

These dancers are just paert of the 70-person touring troupe for "Carnival China Style" that will perform in Denver on Jan. 13, 2010.

UPDATE: THIS EVENT IS NOW FREE! (Ticketmaster processing charges still apply)

It probably irks Chinese people to no end that their centuries of culture is often crammed into just a couple of off-hand images: Bruce Lee and martial arts, Chairman Mao holding up his Little Red Book, Jackie Chan and martial arts, the traditionalist flash of a Beijing Opera performer in full makeup and drag, Jet Li and martial arts. Oh, and martial arts of any kind, whether or not it’s from China. The mainstream American consciousness seems to be oblivious to the depth and richness of Chinese culture, and to its vast variety.

But Chinese culture spans a huge area and a long timeline. Remember, China is so big and diverse that it even has seven separate groups of language dialects. A Chinese person from Beijing may not be able to understand someone from Hong Kong, because Mandarin is spoken in Beijing and Cantonese in Hong Kong.

The country’s government has been on an international campaign since before last year’s Beijing Olympics to educate the world about all of China. Because the country’s taking over the world stage as a economic power (by most accounts, it’ll eclipse Japan as the world’s second-largest economy in 2010, second only to the U.S.), it’s been keen to promote cultural exchanges and send performers halfway around the world. You can expect this public-relations campaign to continue through at least next year’s 2010 World Expo, which will be held in Shanghai.

The ongoing effort to showcase China’s riches is great for those of us who are interested in the breadth of its culture.

Here in Denver we have a rare opportunity to catch a spectacle of an event, “Carnival China Style,” that will bring 70 performers and support staff from all over China to the U.S. and Canada starting after the new year. A Denver stop’s been announced for Wed. Jan. 13 at 7 pm at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, the classy auditorium at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

Other stops on the tour include Toronto, Ottawa, Chicago, St. Paul, Denver, San Francisco, Sacramento, Reno, Seattle and other cities. President Obama enjoyed some of the performers traveling in this troupe during his recent visit to China.

The evening of entertainment is based on a Chinese traditional festival format and it’ll highlight the long history, grace, beauty, populism, diversity and folk nature of Chinese culture. The evening won’t just be traditional dance and music, either.

There’s a segment featuring Wang Feng, a popular rock star in China, and even the woman who hold the Guinness World Record for twirling the most hula hoops at once. Who knew that’s a Chinese cultural heritage?

Here are some descriptions from the event’s press release: Continue reading

Denver gets a backstage look at kabuki, traditional Japanese theater

Kabuki is one of the most dynamic and interesting theatrical forms in Japan.Like any school kid, I loved going on field trips when I was young, But, since we lived in Japan until 3rd grade, my earliest memories of field trips weren’t the typical ones that American kids remember. I remember looking out of a school bus and seeing steaming lumps of sticky rice being pounded into mochi for New Year’s celebrations, for example (I think we were on the way to a shrine where we learned about Oshogatsu, or Japanese New Year, traditions).

And, I have a distinct memory of going from Green Park Elementary School, on a U.S. Army base in Tokyo (it’s no longer there), to a grand old theater in the heart of Tokyo to see a form of traditional Japanese theater, kabuki.

A lot of Americans probably know the word “kabuki” because it’s been used for restaurants and hotels and other products. Like “Sukiyaki,” “Mikado” and other words, they’ve become shorthand for “something Japanese.” But many Americans who’ve heard the word probably don’t know that kabuki is a cultural treasure in Japan, an artform dating back to the early 1600s that’s a bit like a mix of stylized Chinese opera and melodramatic Western-style opera.

The Japanese government is hoping to change that, and make more Americans aware of the traditions of kabuki. They’re sponsoring a U.S. tour of a lecture/performance called “Backstage to Hanamichi,” starring two of Japan’s kabuki masters, Kyozo Nakamura and Matanosuke Nakamura (no relation) from the world-renowned Shochiku Company. Denver gets its introduction to kabuki this Saturday, Oct. 24, at the June Swaner Gates Concert Hall at Denver University, 2344 East Iliff Ave. (303-871-7720 for the box office). The performance costs $25.

I have vivid memories from my childhood field trip: Continue reading

Keeping history alive through the good times


Members of the Grateful Crane Ensemble’s “Moonlight Serenaders” in “The Camp Dance: The Music & The Memories,” include (front row) Keiko Kawashima and Jason Fong; (back row) Kurt Kuniyoshi, Darrell Kunitomi and Haruye Ioka. (Photo by Phil Nee)

You wouldn’t think that the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II would make for great source material for a stage musical. But it does, and in a way, makes a much more effective vehicle to tell people about that time, and what happened to JA families, than heavier, dramatic works such as the novel and movie, “Snow Falling on Cedars.”

“The Camp Dance: The Music & the Memories” is proof that internment can be explained in an entertaining way through a musical.

Written and produced by Soji Kashiwagi, a sansei, and performed by his Grateful Crane Ensemble of actors, the play combines narration (the actors announcing what’s going on on the stage), acting (there’s plenty of terrific, believable and historically accurate dialogue), music and dance to entertain and educate audiences about the internment experience. Continue reading