An evening of kabuki and traditional Japanese dance performed by Sachiyo Ito of New York City will be presented on Thursday, February 28, 2013, at 7:00 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium, Visual Arts Center, at Bowdoin College. The performance— presented in conjunction with the exhibition Fantastic Stories: The Supernatural in 19th-century Japanese Prints at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art—is sponsored by the Asian Studies Program, the Department of Theater and Dance, and the BCMA and is open to the public free of charge.

The evening’s performance will include dances based on the legends of the Yamanba, the frightening mountain spirit, and of the Dojoji maiden, who transforms into a snake when filled with desire. Brief commentary will introduce audience members to the fantastical themes present throughout Japanese theater, dance, and printmaking.

Sachiyo Ito is a New York-based performer who has brought together East and West through her delicate and powerful adaptations of classical, traditional, and contemporary theater for nearly forty years. A long-celebrated dancer, Ito has been praised by The New York Times and The Village Voice for her combination of traditional Japanese and modern dance forms. Born in Tokyo, Sachiyo Ito is an artist, choreographer, and arts educator.She has taught at several colleges and universities, including the Juilliard School and New York University, since 1972. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Dance from New York University. More information is available on the Sachiyo Ito & Company website at http://www.dancejapan.com/.

About the Asian Studies Program at Bowdoin College

Bowdoin College offers Asian Studies courses in anthropology, art, government, history, literature, music, religion, and sociology, as well as Chinese and Japanese language instruction. These courses span South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal) and East Asia (China and Japan), and include the study of the regions’ past and present.

About the Exhibition

Fantastic Stories: The Supernatural in Nineteenth-Century Japanese Prints explores themes of the supernatural and otherworldly creatures in woodblock prints of the late Edo period (1600–1868). The exhibition includes forty woodblock prints, all drawn from the private collection of Cornell University faculty member Dan McKee. A selection of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art’s collection of netsuke (small ivory carvings that depict demons and animals) are also displayed and complement the prints on view. Organized on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Asian Studies at Bowdoin College, the exhibition at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art will continue through March 3, 2013.

About the Bowdoin College Museum of Art

The collections of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, begun 200 years ago with a major gift from James Bowdoin III and his family, are among the most comprehensive of any college museum in the United States. They are housed in the landmark Walker Art Building, designed in 1894 by Charles Follen McKim, and located on the historic quadrangle of Bowdoin College. A 2007 renovation and expansion has re-established the Museum as the centerpiece of Bowdoin’s vibrant arts and culture community.

Fully accessible, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art is open to the public free of charge: Tuesday through Saturday: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Thursday evenings until 8:30 p.m. and Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Closed Mondays and national holidays. bowdoin.edu/art-museum.