SHAKTI RAISES THE DEAD AT THE FRINGE

In line with Shakti’s Fringe shows’ theme, this year, of ‘infinity’ (see also 1001 Nights press release), she will present a stirring performance of The Shaman (The Winds of Bon).

‘Bon’ is the season, in Japan, when the spirits of the dead rise and return to the land of the living. The Buddhist belief in reincarnation and the continuation of life and death permeates the land. The Shaman bridges the path between the two worlds. The winds of Bon blow the spirits to the land, whirling and dancing .

The show opens with the haunting sound of the wind and the flute, symbolizing the voices of the dead, and the dance progresses with the ambient classic, Pachelbel's Canon, and on to the sharp and furious shamisen (a long-necked Japanese three-stringed zither) and the soft mountain drums; evoking the spirits and, finally, sending them back to the land of the dead.