Arts Briefs
December 29, 2006
Bell Ringing Ceremony
EVENT: 21st Annual Japanese New Year’s Bell Ringing Ceremony
DESCRIPTION: Special performance with a shakuhachi (bamboo flute) followed by Zen Buddhist priest Gengo Akiba Roshi leading the ceremonial bell ringing.
DETAILS: Free with museum admission, Dec. 31, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.; children’s activities, 11 a.m. music; Samsung Hall, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.; Bell Ringing Ceremony, Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin St., San Francisco.
CONTACT: (415) 581-3500, www.asianart.org
Celebrate Oshogatsu
EVENT: Oshogatsu, the Japanese New Year, at the Asian Art Museum
DESCRIPTION: Festivities include a Kabuki performance of Tsurukame, storytelling, and origami-folding.
DETAILS: Free with museum admission, Jan. 2, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., Samsung Hall, Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin St., San Francisco.
CONTACT: (415) 581-3500, www.asianart.org
Mochi Pounding Ceremony
EVENT: Mochitsuki, mochi pounding ceremony
DESCRIPTION: S.F. organization Kagami Kai presents the colorful and exciting tradition of mochi (delectable sweet rice cakes) pounding with music, dance and costumes.
DETAILS: Free with museum admission, Jan. 6, 12-4 p.m., Samsung Hall, Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin St., San Francisco.
CONTACT: (415) 581-3500, www.asianart.org
Izu and Aoki Awarded Fellowships
SAN FRANCISCO — Composer Mark Izu and playwright Brenda Wong Aoki have each been awarded the 2007-2008 Japan-United States Friendship Commission Creative Artist Exchange Fellowship. Jointly sponsored by the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts and Japan’s Agency of Cultural Affairs, their selection was a result of a rigorous national competition among artists of all disciplines. Only five fellowships are awarded each year.
Izu will use his residency to develop a new symphonic work with maestro Kent Nagano and gagaku master Togi Suenobu.
Wong Aoki will use her residency to complete the final installment to a trilogy of plays about her mixed-race Japanese American family.
The fellowships involve a five-month residency in Japan observing Japanese art and culture and researching their specific fields of interest.
Bhangra, Bollywood to Fire Up New Year’s
SAN JOSE — Thousands of people in San Jose, Calif., will ring in the New Year dancing to hot and sizzling Bollywood numbers. Both the San Jose convention center and the Santa Clara convention center are hosting Bollywood and bhangra-themed parties.
Local DJs and promoters say that the demand for Indian music has exploded, and Bollywood is the height of hip. “Since Bollywood is so famous now, everyone wants to put Bollywood in their parties,” says DJ Salim. “They understand that OK, if they’re going to play that music, the party is going to be good.”
Bollywood-themed parties have become a solid business model for local clubs. The monthly Bollywood Nights party at the Avalon attracts anywhere between 600 and 1,000.
— Indo-Asian News Service
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