Shentai. The word comes off like a reprimand, a breathy admonition, an erotic, Orient-tinged term best used close to the ear—a two-syllable tantalization forming out of the ether and vanishing as quickly.
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Following in the footsteps of last year’s Wunderkammer, Shentai—a term whose elusive planners define it loosely as “strange appearance, then strange disappearance” —is a caravan of sensory overload that drops anchor at the Ix Building on June 14 and sets sail following July 1. This exotic three-ring circus promises peepshows and freakshows (not to mention “aerial performances” and “Vampire-geisha clogging”) amidst live music and theater that arise from nowhere.
Much like the subtle “Sh-” that begins its name, Shentai starts as a whisper, a rustle that builds then silences itself. As the name circles through Charlottesville, strange visages rumored to be associated with Shentai have appeared and disappeared around town. This was the scene on the Downtown Mall on Friday, May 25.
Shentai opens on June 14 and runs through July 1 on Thursday-Sunday evenings (doors at 7:30pm, performance at 8pm). Tickets may be purchased in advance for $15 at the Live Arts box office at 123 E. Water St. For more cryptic information, visit www.shentaicarnival.org.
