OIKADO ICHIRO – Japanese festival performer
Friday, Oct 11 | 7:00 PM
Buy Tickets: $30 Online / $32 At the Door (Ticket price includes complimentary pre-show reception)
OIKADO ICHIRO is a traditional Japanese stroller and festival performer. Part of a 400 year old tradition, Ichiro has travelled throughout the world introducing this ancient and unique art form to thousands at feasts, religious festivals, and events.
Descended from a family of traditional Japanese performers, Ichiro learned his art performing at Shinto Temples in Japan. His art form involves elaborate costume staging, fascinating masks & precise dance choreography. In Ichiro’s words, “from the original belief in Japan that there are said to be more than 8 million spirits living with us, so every moment we have a feast and a festival. The mimes and dances I perform tell the stories of these spirits, the myths of our ancestors and celebrate our beliefs.”
OIKADO ICHIRO has toured extensively around the world, performing from Estonia to Spain with the much respected avant-garde art group NON_GRATA as well at the Diverse Universe Europe Tour in Berlin. He has been the guest of numerous Japan Societies, from New York to Hawaii, to Korea and Brazil. He performed at the Berlin Diverse Universe, Berlin’s equivalent of New Haven’s Arts and Ideas. In 1997, he spent four months strolling over 2500 miles between London and Istanbul, performing and meeting with actors, Bohemians and other artists along the way, “…gaining much wisdom for his life.” Lyric Hall is his first stop in his brief visit to the USA.
Enjoy the costume and mask of the Lion Dance where the Lion “eats negative things and makes joy.” We could all do with some of that! Laugh or scream as first a long carp swims & wriggles and then magically turns into a Japanese lady who might even kiss you. Learn about why Boy’s Day in Japan features the carp, a fish with the strength and courage to swim upstream. Do we have the courage to go against the tide? Admire how Ichiro makes one character or animal turn into another with changes of costumes and interlocking masks. A unique art form, these dances have been enjoyed by all ages for generations. Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of the fun.
*US, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Jamaica, Haiti, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, England, France, Holland, Luxembourg, Belgium, German, Austria, Italy, Greek, Turkey, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Spain, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, India, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Cambodia, Korea