Justin's Japan: Nippon in New York — Kamakura, TAO, Kimono Fashions, Noh, Kyogen

By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his Japanese culture page here for related stories.Stay warm this winter with some hot local events, from an exhibition that will transport you to another time, some cool late night jazz celebrating the best of two different cultures, and a fashion show and traditional performances you won’t want to miss.This month’s highlights include:Feb. 5-6, 11:15 p.m.Patrick Bartley—Parallel Worlds: Japanese and American Music in the 20th CenturyDizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Broadway and 60th Street, 5th floor$10, $5 students (Friday); $20, $10 students (Saturday)Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Late Night Session performances feature some of jazz's most talented up-and-comers. Following his three nights of Bix and Tram: A Retrospective held earlier in the week, Parallel Worlds offers a brief, yet insightful look at the musical relationship between Japan and America, all performed by talented young musicians. The leader of New York’s own J-MUSIC Ensemble, Bartley (who performed with Jon Batiste and Stay Human on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in January) will examine the important periods between the earliest recorded music (1920s-30s) and the turning point for all popular music around the world in the 1960s—a story told with jazz as its orator.Feb. 9-May 8Kamakura: Realism and Spirituality in the Sculpture of JapanAsia Society, 725 Park Avenue$12, $10 seniors, $7 students, free for members and on Fridays 6:00-9:00 p.m.With over thirty masterpieces from the Kamakura period (1185–1333) from private and museum collections in North America and Europe, Kamakura is the first exhibition to look beyond the aesthetics and technical achievements of these remarkable sculptures, and specifically examine the relationship between realism and the sacred empowerment of these objects. The exhibition explores how sculptures are “brought to life” or “enlivened” by the spiritual connection between exterior form, interior contents, and devotional practice, reflecting the complexity and pluralism of the period. Kamakura marks the first major loan show of Kamakura sculpture in the United States in more than thirty years.Feb. 11-14TAO DrumheartNYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, 566 LaGuardia Place$45-$75Direct from TAO’s successful, sold-out world premiere run of at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, TAO comes to tour North America. Their new show, Drumheart—making its world premiere in New York—is their newest show bringing you athletic bodies and contemporary costumes combined with explosive Taiko drumming and innovative choreography. directed by Amon Miyamoto (Pacific Overtures) and featuring costumes by Junko Koshino and stage design by Rumi Matsui (both Tony nominees), TAO has critics raving about their extraordinary precision, energy, and stamina. With hundreds of sold-out shows and more than six million spectators, TAO has proven that modern entertainment based on the timeless, traditional art of Japanese drumming, entertains international audiences again and again.For the complete story, click here.