Japan Society
Hiroaki Umeda
Terrace Theater
In partnership with Japan Society, this year’s presentation highlights the two latest projects of Hiroaki Umeda, one of the leading figures of the Japanese avant-garde scene.
Mar. 17 - 18, 2026
Tue. Mar. 17, 2026 7:30p.m.
Wed. Mar. 18, 2026 7:30p.m.
Genre
Dance
SERIES
View Digital Program
assimilating. Photo by Sugawara Kota
The Kennedy Center has a decades-long commitment to presenting Japanese arts and culture, and annually partners with Japan Society, New York, to feature a touring production. This year’s presentation highlights Hiroaki Umeda, one of the leading figures of the Japanese avant-garde scene.
Since 2002, Umeda’s choreography and eye for digital design have been celebrated around the world. Now, Umeda returns to the U.S. for a five-city tour organized by Japan Society with his latest projects: Moving State 1, performed by dancers from his Somatic Field Project, and assimilating, Umeda’s own solo performance. Both explore behavioral design and the “attitudes” of things in motion within a dance aesthetic, where refined physicality merges with cyberart.
The U.S. five-city tour of Hiroaki Umeda: assimilating and Moving State 1 is produced and organized by Japan Society, with support from Arts Council Tokyo (Creation Grant) and The Harkness Foundation for Dance.
Hiroaki Umeda (Japanese Dance) | March 17-18
“Cool, minimalist, high-tech hip hop… Umeda has made a dance of total theater under the control of his photographer’s eye.”
Japan Society
Hiroaki Umeda
Mar. 17 - 18, 2026
In partnership with Japan Society, this year’s presentation highlights the two latest projects of Hiroaki Umeda, one of the leading figures of the Japanese avant-garde scene.
Mini Japan Expo
Wed. Mar. 18, 2026
Celebrate the cultural ties between the United States and Japan during America’s 250th anniversary with Japan in Bloom, featuring events including a free mini expo with cultural and informational booths from leading Japanese organizations, companies, and cultural groups.
Millennium Stage (In-Person and Livestream)
Futago Oni Kenbai
Thu. Mar. 19, 2026
Oni Kenbai is a Buddhist performing art, originally called Nenbutsu Kenbai. Dancers chant Buddhist prayers while performing to pray for abundant harvests and protection from illness.
The Blue Star of Life, the piece was donated by the Japanese artist Maestro Shirakata Yasuhiko and presented at a ceremony on May 29, 2015, in honor of President John F. Kennedy’s birthday and to commemorate the longstanding relationship between the Center and the people of Japan. The artwork remains on site and is currently displayed on the lower level of the Terrace Theater.
William J. Caldwell and Michele Toth
Support the Kennedy Center's Dance program when you designate your Membership to Ballet and Dance.
All events and artists subject to change without prior notice.
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