Kuniko Yamamoto, April 29 through May 4

Full Performances: Saturday, May 4, 2 & 7 p.m.

Quad City Arts Center, 1715 Second Avenue, Rock Island IL

Abbreviated Performances: Monday, April 29, through Saturday, May 4

Various Area Locales

Enchanting audiences of every age with dramatic storytelling using myths and fables from ancient and modern Japan, Kuniko Yamamoto enjoys a residency as the latest guests in the Quad City Arts Visiting Artist series, her area performances from April 29 through May 4 spiced with social revelations to educate and amuse.

Yamamoto received national exposure performing Japanese storytelling at the Silk Road International Exposition and on Kansai National TV in 1985. Over the last three decades-plus, she has presented her programs throughout the United States, receiving the Tempo Award from Origami USA in 2007. As a passionate origami artist and teacher, Yamamoto also opened Origami Air Art Studio in 2017. The artist has performed at: The Kennedy Center (Washington DC); Disney Epcot Japanese Pavilion; Seattle’s International Children’s Festival/Giant Magnet; International Children’s Festival in Canada; National Storytelling Festival; LA Music Center/Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County; and the Pittsburgh International Children’s Festival.

In Magical Mask, Music, & Mime of Japan, Yamamoto uses traditional Japanese music, handcrafted masks, stylized movement, and a touch of magic to create an artistic balance of illusion and reality. For younger children, Origami Tales uses folded paper animals and faces, which come alive in folk tales. Every program encourages audience interaction and participation, with each narrative carefully selected for cultural and moral perspectives. Yamamoto offers a variety of workshops including Math Lesson with Origami, Origami Cultural Connections and Visual Arts, Origami and Technology, Origami for Teachers, along with the Koto Green Tea Ceremony.

During her residency with Quad City Arts, Yamamoto will appear in two full-length events at Quad City Arts on May 4, her 2 and 7 pm. programs offering fascinating stories of Zen, samurai, and tea, and how they are connected are shared along with the history and demonstration of the Tea Ceremony. In these experiential presentations, each audience member will have a cup of green tea to taste, the $10-20 events featuring a curated conversation and a meet and greet in which the artist will recall her experiences with students in local schools.

Yamamoto will also appear in a quintet of free, abbreviated programs at area venues: at the DeWitt Community Library (915 Fifth Avenue) on pril 29 at 6 p.m.; at the Bettendorf Public Library (2950 Learning Campus Drive) on April 30 at 11 a.m.; at the Rock Island Public Library Watts-Midtown Branch (2715 30th Street) on April 30 at 2 p.m.; at the Moline Public Library (3210 41st Street) on May 1 at noon; and at the Muscatine Art Center (1314 Mulberry Avenue) on May 2 at 5 p.m.

For more information on Kuniko Yamamoto's area appearances and the Visiting Artist Series, call (309)793-1213 and visit QuadCityArts.com.