Japan's "Empress of Pop" Ayumi Hamasaki will perform in the opening day (tomorrow) of "Shanghai International Arts Festival" this year as a part of "Japanese Culture Week" which will be held for an entire month.
Ayumi Hamasaki
"Shanghai will be a stage for the past 10 years of my career. I will show all of myself - the past, the present and the future," says the singer. VIP tickets to her concert were sold out within an hour.
Not only Ayumi, but also Rimi Natsukawa and J-idol group Arashi will perform at the festival. The cultural week also includes more high-brow acts such as the Japanese NBA Ballet and Press Start Game Music concert. Japanese fashion designer Yumi Katsura's catwalk show will also include in the routine. She is famous for her brilliantly blending Oriental elements into Western wedding gowns.
According to curator of the Japanese Cultural Week Wu Min Min, Japan's top eight performances including pop concerts, ballet, fashion shows and art exhibitions will be shown on the festival.
"We feature performances that represent cultural and art development in modern Japan and how artists modernize traditional Japanese culture," he said. "They represent the trend in modern Japanese culture - artists seeking the balance between traditional and international. And this is what we offer spectators," said about the catwalk show.
Press Start refers to pressing the start button before a new game. Press Start performances cleverly present gaming melodies through symphony, accompanied projected computer generated gaming videos.
Australia, Egypt, France, Mexico, Russia and Singapore will participate as guest countries.
Source : Shanghai Daily October 17, 2008