Six original and very different performing arts evenings. Eating Japanese cake figuratively and literally: next to bright contemporary art exhibitions of the Land of the Rising Sun, gourmets will be tempted by gastronomy workshops, the popular "Omakase" style dinner, and a colorful "Cosplay" competition will catch the eye. Such a program is presented by the eleventh Japanese culture festival "nowJapan", which will take place in Vilnius on September 10-15.
The harmony of the violin and the robot, the premiere of the performance
St. On the evening of September 10, the festival will be opened by one of its brightest stars - the world-renowned trio "Asa Chang & Junray" combining musical styles. The legend of Japanese music, the famous percussionist Hirokazu Asakura with wind player Yoshihiro Goseki and violinist Anzu Suhara will invite you on an incredible journey with sounds that would not exist without the name of the group simply "Junray", which means pilgrimage in Japanese, named after its electronic member (Jun-Ray Tronics). ). Classical and jazz, electronics, crazy percussion and the human voice controlled by digital technology, which becomes another musical instrument - this ensemble combines the most unusual harmonies.
The next evening, the Japanese will be replaced on stage by Lithuanians, who also have their own culture of the Land of the Rising Sun. On September 11, St. At St. Catherine's Church, "Solo Teatras" will show the performance "Buddha in the Attic" by the director and actress Birutė Mar, who studied traditional Japanese theater and dance, based on the novel of the same name by Julie Otsuka. It is a story about emigration and a kind of those times, based on true stories of the XNUMXth centurytinderį: after the war JAV settled Japanese men would send photos to their homeland, after choosing possible lovers from them, women would go on a journey across the ocean in search of their happiness. The performance is constructed according to the principle of traditional Japanese theater, combining dance, movement, text and music played live on stage - thus creating a unique stage sign language that tells about the human connection with the past in the era of mixing of the world's nations, the nation's identity and the way to survive.
Audiovisuals symbiosiseh, the ballads of an indefatigable desire to travel and the sounds of real inventions
On September 12, the project of both nations will invite: Kazumasa Teshigawara, who is called the titan of Japanese visual arts, and Lithuanian alternative electronic music creator Paulius Kilbauskas, who has been looking for inspiration in exotic lands for many years, will join forces and thoughts. and "Cannes a lion"! On the "nowJapan" stage, he will create live digital visualizations that will "resonate" with Paul's musical experiments.
St. On September 13, guitarist and singer Hideki Sakomizu and pianist Yuki Deai will vibrate the soul and skin with melancholy ballads in the Catherine Church. You don't even need to understand the lyrics to feel that they are about the desire to travel, try, love, loneliness. After mixing the world, Hideki Sakomizu visits more and more different cities, plays acoustic guitar and performs melodious songs with a soft falsetto. It is interesting that after their first stay with Yuki Deai in 2013, they became friends of Lithuania and presented the country's culture in Tokyo.
The very next evening, audiovisual artists Shinichi and Emi Hirai, who combine music and visuals in the original project "Usaginingen", which means human-rabbit in Lithuanian, will attract attention. With their production instruments and sound, and the images they project on stage, the two create a real aliveinstrumental cinema, which was appreciated at international festivals. One of the instruments - "ta-co" - is equipped with a video camera and a mirror drawing table, on which paints and granules are mixed to create an impressive spectacle, visible to the audience through a projector. This gives voice to the shibaki, which visually resembles a spinning wheel.
A flight of superheroes, a big festival weekend and a provocative closing
Dressed up as colorful characters from their favorite anime, manga, computer games or fantasy films, the participants of the costume studio show "Cosplay" in St. Catherine's Church will gather on September 14 at 13 p.m. The author of the smartest, most original image will win the opportunity to represent Lithuania at the European Cosplay competition in London.
On September 15, St. Catherine's Church - the closing evening of the festival, Kaori Ito and Theo Tuvet's contemporary art and dance performance "Embrase Moi". This is an interpretation of emotional experiences, words of love, empty promises, inviting you to open your eyes to changing relationships, attractiveness, freedom of thought and speech. The duet of a famous French gymnast, a circus artist and a talented Japanese contemporary dancer touches human taboos and personal grievances through choreography.
The hustle and bustle of the Great Japanese Arts and Culture Weekend will invite you to the Theater, Music and Cinema Museum and its courtyard in Vilnius on September 14-15 from 11:XNUMX a.m. in the old town. There will be an elaborate Shinto shrine with Mikoshi, traditional Taiko drums concert, manga workshops, travel and culture posts, cooking classes, desserts, Japanese street food. In addition to gastronomic experiences, there is food for those interested in contemporary Japanese art: world-renowned media artists and designers Kazumasa Teshigawara, So Kanno, comic illustrator Kimiaki Yaegashi exhibitions. Right there, in the museum, an interactive installation - a Kabuki mask will predict the fate of everyone who visits.
NowJapan, which will be held in Vilnius on September 10-15, is the largest Japanese cultural festival in the Baltic States.
All information - www.nowjapan.lt
