SAN FRANCISCO — A lecture/demonstration of Nihon buyo (日本舞踊) or Japanese classical dance will be given by Nishikawa Minosuke (西川箕乃助) V on Wednesday, June 27, at 6:30 p.m. at Fromm Hall on University of San Francisco’s Main Campus, Parker at Golden Gate.
The lecture will include an explanation of characters, props and dance movements. Volunteers will be encouraged to come up to the stage and try dance movements using the sensu (扇子) or folding fan and tenugui (手ぬぐい), a Japanese hand towel used as a prop in Japanese classical dance.
Nishikawa will give a costume demonstration and perform “Ayatsuri Sambaso” (操り三番叟).
Born in 1960, Nishikawa Minosuke first appeared on stage at the age of 3. He graduated from Waseda University in Tokyo and then studied in Britain. He now teaches at Nihon University.
The Sambaso is one of the most important ceremonial dances in the kabuki theater. It originally comes from the ritual dance Okina in the classical noh theater, with vigorous stamping and shaking of bells; it is a prayer for agricultural prosperity. In this version of the dance, the performer imitates a stringed marionette doing the Sambaso dance with another performer appearing as the puppeteer.
Nihon buyo developed from a long tradition of ancient Japanese dance. Staged dances appeared in 17th century along with kabuki theater. Today, Nihon buyo has five large schools, one of which is the Nishikawa School with a history of three centuries.
Presented by the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, the USF Center for the Pacific Rim and the Japan Society of Northern California, this event is free and open to the public. RSVP to infoav@cgjsf.org or call (415) 422-6828.