Performing Arts

The Performing Arts Program introduces performers from Japan’s contemporary and traditional music, dance and theater scenes, and commissions non-Japanese performing artists to create works on themes relating to Japan. Many distinguished artists have performed in the Society’s 260-seat theater and on Society-produced North American tours. Since 1953, Japan Society’s Performing Arts Program has inspired audiences in New York and beyond with over 1,000 productions ranging from traditional Japanese arts to contemporary theater, dance, music and more.

Performing Arts 2024-2025 Season

This Fall, we open our season with Ningyo! A Parade of Puppetry – our first-ever series dedicated entirely to the art of Japanese puppet theater. The world premiere of puppeteer Basil Twist’s Dogugaeshi at Japan Society in 2004 marked the first production from Japan Society’s Artistic Director Yoko Shioya at the helm of the Performing Arts Program.  Now, in her 20th anniversary season of leading Japan Society’s Performing Arts program, Yoko Shioya reflects on the importance of puppetry, and on Japan’s place within this esteemed artform: “We should not forget the power of analog craft and sheer human artistry even when the world – and the stage – have become more and more reliant on digital technology.  In Fall 2024, we celebrate Japan’s one-of-a-kind puppetry culture at the forefront of innovation, influence and emotional effect — both within the endlessly inventive world of puppetry and within the entire universe of theater-making.”

Alongside the Ningyo! A Parade of Puppetry series this fall, the gallery exhibition Bunraku Backstage offers a rare glimpse behind the scenes of Japan’s puppetry theater, showcasing actual working puppets, props, instruments, costumes and more. Check out more details here.

The second half of this season bursts with leading-edge, contrasting works by Japanese artists across many genres. Our dance program showcases the voices of East Asia; the theater program honors Japan’s incomparable avant-garde scene in the ’70s; the Play Reading furthers its focus on current women artists; the shakuhachi concert links the Edo period’s cool culture to today; and we culminate with two flashy—and wildly different—jazz concerts. Join us—enjoy this fascinating assortment!