In early Shinto religious festivals, performers of the Japanese temple dance Kagura channeled the divine feminine spirit of the goddess, Ame-no-Uzume to her worshippers. The oldest known Japanese performance practice, Kagura predates and influenced Noh theatre. It continues to be preserved and interpreted by contemporary Japanese performers, including Miho Takayasu, an Osaka-based actress and performer who combines the Kagura she learned as a child in Shinto temples with her contemporary sensibility as a modern dancer and physical theatre performer. Takayasu joins us from Japan to discuss and demonstrate the history and contemporary life of this dance form. Introduction by Andrzej Wirth and translation by Aya Ogawa. NO RESERVATIONS. FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED.