What is Kabuki Academy?

Mary Mariko Ohno opened the KABUKI ACADEMY in 1983 to instruct Japanese classical dancing, Naga-uta style shamisen music and the general concepts of Kabuki Arts at Tacoma Community College, Seattle Central Community College and her studio in Tacoma, Washington (in the Pacific Northwest). By this time, the numbers of her enthusiastic students reach well over 500, including Americans, Japanese-Americans and even Japanese living in the U.S.A.

Although she lives in Tacoma, Mary Ohno goes to Japan to perform Japanese dancing and shamisen music at numerous theaters in Tokyo, Japan to improve her skills. Those who join her Kabuki Academy are fully satisfied with her energetic, patient and well disciplined lessons preceded by her fluent English and Japanese.

Those who want to learn just dancing or music may wonder, "Why should I also learn Japanese discipline and traditions?" You can hardly learn any Japanese traditional arts without understanding its culture and traditions. The more you learn, the more you enjoy working on whatever you are taking lessons in. "Seeing is believing." Come and join our Kabuki Academy and discover for yourself. Those who join the Kabuki Academy will receive the "Kabuki Academy Manners & Etiquette Manual." You can learn a lot of things from this manual, which you may have never heard or thought before.

Besides conducting these classes, Mary Ohno is also the founder and Director of the Kabuki Academy Performance Troupe. In the past ten years, several Kabuki Academy Recitals were held at the Nippon-kan Theater, Seattle Art Museum, Tacoma Community College Theater, etc., presented by Kabuki Academy students and with a number of professional Kabuki actor/dancers, Naga-uta shamisen musicians and percussionists who joined from Tokyo, Japan.

Mary Ohno also produces and directs traditional KABUKI style performances, being a producer as well as performer herself; in 1988 at Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, Texas, and in 1996 in Boston Massachussetts at the Berklee College of Music’s Berklee Performance Center with the Boston Conservatory. All these performances were quite unique and were a rare attempt to present a Kabuki performance & demonstration program overseas. Their achievements were highly praised by the specialists in Boston, Massachussetts.

KABUKI ACADEMY’s door is always open to you. Come and enjoy learning Kabuki Arts. Mary Ohno personally knows many kabuki artists, including dancers, actors, musicians, percussionists, and also artisans of stage costumes, stage wigs and stage makeup. She is planning to invite these artisans to "Kabuki Seminars" and have a workshop. Also being planned is a "Kabuki Tour" to Japan with a visit to the Kabuki-za Theater or Japanese traditional artisans' workshops.

If you are interested in Kabuki Academy Click Here .

VIDEO

A video of our Kabuki Academy is available with $20 plus postage & handling. This video introduces dancing and shamisen music as well as a demonstration of stage make-up and kimono dressing. You can learn the history of Kabuki, as well. This one hour program was televised on the "Majestic Performance Hour" in Washington.

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