Waves Across Time: Traditional Dance and Music of Okinawa

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of Okinawa’s return to Japan after the U.S.‘s post-WWII occupation, a group of the islands’ most exquisite dancers will perform a diverse repertoire of Okinawan traditional performing arts accompanied by live music. As specially selected by the young artistic director of the National Theatre Okinawa Michihiko Kakazu, the versatile artists will perform highlights from the traditional repertoire of kumiodori, a noh-inspired theater form developed during the period when the archipelago was an independent kingdom called Ryukyu (15th-19th centuries). The program also features popular folk dances (zo odori) with traditional ensemble music. From the brightly-dyed bingata costumes to the island music’s iconic use of pentatonic scales, audiences are invited to relish the history and heritage of Japan’s southernmost prefecture.