Traveling teahouse a real conversation starter
East Bay artist
Taro Hattori is putting a modern twist on the traditional Japanese teahouse — and literally taking it on the road to San Jose’s Japantown this weekend.
Hattori’s project, “Rolling Counterpoint,” launched Wednesday night at the Euphrat Museum at De Anza College in Cupertino. Commissioned by the Lucas Artists Program at the Montalvo Arts Center, the project’s centerpiece is a mobile teahouse where Hattori invited visitors in for tea and conversation, aiming to talk about the divisions in society.
Japanese teahouses historically served as places for contemplation and communion, with 16th-century tea masters acting as political go-betweens for feuding factions. “Using this history as a point of departure, I am reimagining the teahouse as a generative space where guests can share stories and experiences, address conflict, foster understanding, and imagine new ways of being together,” Hattori said in a statement about the project.
The teahouse will be parked at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose at 535 N. Fifth Street through Sunday, part of the museum’s commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which led to the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese-Americans during World War II. Free with museum admission, the teahouse will be open for conversations — and tea — between noon and 3 p.m. On Sunday afternoon, it’ll move to the Buddhist Church Betsuin at 640 N. Fifth St., where it will be open from 4 to 8 p.m.
“Rolling Counterpoint” will finish its South Bay rounds with an appearance in San Jose’s Parque de los Pobladores, across from the MACLA gallery at 510 S. First St. during the next South First Fridays art walk on March 3. Visual artist/vocalist Marissa Katarina Berg
mann will perform an improvised song that night based on the language gathered from various conversations. If you’re interested in learning more about the project, visit rollingcounterpoint.com. DIVERSITY
THROUGH DANCE: Los Angeles-based artist and educator Mark Valdez is bringing an immersive, dance-filled theater experience to downtown San Jose this weekend. “DJ Latinidad’s Latino Dance Party” will take over MACLA at 510 S. First St. with performances Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
It weaves together music, dance, drama and comedy with a dance party, encouraging the audience to ponder what it means to be Latino — while dancing along, of course, to a diverse variety of Latino music and dance styles. Performances are at 8:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, with an afterparty featuring Sonido Clash starting at 10:30 p.m. Saturday.
Ticket prices vary from $10-$25, and you can get tickets online at djlatinidadatmacla.eventbrite.com or at the door. CULTURAL QUILT: It’s the final weekend to catch “Gee’s Bend,” a play based on the true and inspiring story of the quilters of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, and their relationship to the history of African-Americans in 20th-century America. The piece is being performed at the Historic Hoover Theatre at 1635 Park Ave. in San Jose by
Tabia, an African-American theater ensemble that is a company in residence with the San Jose Multicultural Guild.
There are 8 p.m. performances Friday and Saturday, and a 3 p.m. matinee Sunday. Get tickets and more information at http://sjmag.org/events/ gees-bend.