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Also this issue: Designer Threads Bryan Willette Forbidden Broadway Beauty and the Beast The Consul Paul Taylor Dance Co. John Simpson and Jesse Sheidlower of the OED Artsbeat |
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December 5-11, 2002
artpicks
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Roko Kawai has been around the Philadelphia modern dance scene for several years, but recently, her signature style has evolved into a playful, witty take on the traditional Japanese dramatic form of Kabuki. This weekend, she will perform a parody of the famous classic Fuji Musume, the Dance of the Wisteria Maiden. This uniquely recognizable kimono-clad character from the Edo era typically wears a pancake-flat black hat and a sprig of lavender blooms jutting out from behind her back. A female archetype, the character epitomizes old-fashioned Japanese notions of "ephemeral beauty ... a bit of the virgin ho," says Kawai. In her piece, titled "Fuji Maid Onna," she takes this silent heroine and gives her a sardonic voice of her own, redefining femininity and delicacy with a revelatory jolt by experimenting with make-up and costume. Elements of the show were previewed at the 2002 Fringe Festival, the Kimmel Center and just last week as part of P Power Performance Project's Supergirl Power Activate! in San Francisco. Oliver Brubaker, Winged Woman Dance Company, Astrid Ussar, Lisa Bardson, Sheila Zagar, "Da" Boom Tap Company, Kristen Sharavidian and The Bald Mermaids will perform along with Kawai as part of the Glue Performance Series.
Sat.-Sun., Dec. 7-8, 8 p.m., $8-$10, Kumquat Dance Center, 3500 Lancaster Ave., 215-387-9895.
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