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There are more than a dozen dance and theater offerings during the Kennedy Center festival, from the most traditional to iconoclastic. Among the most interesting are:
SANKAI JUKU, the most famous touring butoh troupe in the world, revives its 1978 full-length masterpiece, "Kinkan Shonen" ("Kumquat Seed"), about a boy's dreamlike images of creation and death. Butoh, which means "earth dance," evolved in the 1960s as a protest against rigid Japanese traditional theater and the imposition of Western-style dance. Butoh resembles modern dance, martial arts and meditative postures. Like many butoh groups, Sankai Juku members have shaved heads and wear white body makeup, sometimes with minimal clothing. Feb. 12-13 at 7:30 in the Opera House. $15-$55.
"SHINTOKU-MARU" is a surrealistic musical spectacular about a boy haunted by the memory of his mother and torn between hatred and lust for his stepmother. Based on a ancient Noh (traditional musical drama) tale and directed by Yukio Ninagawa, it stars Japanese screen idol Tatsuya Fujiwara ("Death Note," "Battle Royale"). The play, which includes partial nudity, is performed in Japanese with a preshow recorded synopsis by Alan Rickman. Feb. 7-8 at 7:30 and Feb. 9 at 1:30 and 7:30 in the Opera House. $15-$35.
THE MANSAKU-NO-KAI KYOGEN COMPANY is directed by Mansaku Nomura, a legend in Japanese theater, and features his son, Mansai Nomura, a famous kyogen actor and film star. Kyogen is a traditional comic theater; roughly translated, it means "crazy talk." As is custom, male actors play male and female roles. The company offers two programs: a trio of classic kyogen stories (Feb. 11); and a version of Shakespeare's "Comedy of Errors" called "The Kyogen of Errors," the misadventures of twins separated at birth Feb. 13-14). In Japanese with surtitles. Feb. 11 and Feb. 13-14 at 7:30 in the Terrace Theater. $40.
EBINA PERFORMING ARTS stars Kenichi Ebina, the free-style hip-hop dance artist who is the only two-time grand champion in "Showtime at the Apollo" history. Ebina mixes poppin' and lockin', mime, jazz, contemporary and ethnic dance in his works, along with sound and lighting effects. Feb. 11 at 6 on the Millennium Stage; free. Ebina teaches a master class Feb. 12 at 6 in the rehearsal room; $15.
-- Eve Zibart
