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<\/a><\/p>\nIn conjunction with the exhibition Gutai: Splendid Playground<\/a>, the Guggenheim Museum and Japan Society present SANBASO, divine dance<\/a>, a reverent yet wholly modern invocation of ancient Japanese ritual performance. Performed by one of Japan\u2019s most celebrated stage, film and television stars, Mansai Nomura, and with set and costumes designed by internationally renowned visual artist Hiroshi Sugimoto, the North American premiere takes place at the Guggenheim Museum for only three performances.<\/p>\n Sanbaso is one of the oldest components in the highly stylized stage art traditions of noh and kyogen, which date back over 600 years. With origins in an ancient ritual ceremony, sanbaso is a prayer to the gods for a bountiful harvest \u2013 an intense and vigorous yet serene dance traditionally performed by a kyogen actor. In a stark and spectacular 21st century re-imagining, SANBASO, divine dance is staged in the Guggenheim\u2019s Frank Lloyd Wright-designed rotunda with a breathtaking contemporary stage set by Hiroshi Sugimoto, featuring motifs from his well known photography series Lightning Fields. Electric, ghostly images from the series, also used in the costume design, are printed on giant swaths of fabric created by a traditional dye house and hung from the museum\u2019s ramps. Against this backdrop, Mansai Nomura, an acclaimed kyogen actor who is designated an Important Intangible Cultural Asset by the Japanese Government, performs the title role with dynamic pomp and crisp, mesmerizing control, accompanied by five leading traditional noh musicians and three noh chanters.<\/p>\n \u201cSanbaso is unique among the many Japanese traditional performing arts in that it is still presented in its original form,\u201d says Sugimoto, who is also a collector of art and craft going back to pre-history. \u201cIt is believed that the roots of Sanbaso lie in the myth of Amaterasu-omikami, the goddess of the sun, who hid in the heavenly rock cave Ama-no-Iwato. This performance expresses how the gods descend to earth and is regarded as the most important performance piece among all the Shinto rituals . . . From ancient times, the Japanese gods were believed to reveal themselves through human senses rather than in physical manifestations. The audience of this performance will witness the gods\u2019 presence even in these jaded modern times.\u201d<\/p>\n This re-imagining of the Shinto tradition is a tribute to the 1957 stage performance Ultramodern Sanbaso by Shiraga Kazuo, one of the leading figures of Japan\u2019s avant-garde Gutai movement. His historic performance drew inspiration from sanbaso rituals, and the avant-garde rendition opened \u201cGutai Art on Stage,\u201d ostensibly blessing the event that expanded Gutai\u2019s creativity into the realm of performance art. The Guggenheim Museum\u2019s exhibition Gutai: Splendid Playground runs through May 8.<\/p>\n