We had so much fun drumming with these women and men. The energy from this group of people was uplifting and inspiring. Thank you Mary Rieki and Don Armstrong for inviting us. One of our newer members, Tammy, played backup to songs she hadn’t played before. She was awesome!!!!!!! She held our group together like she had been doing this forever. GREAT JOB TAMMY!!!!
Camp Jenee
Written by lhillyard on May 24th, 2010TaikoProject Is Superb!
Written by Chris Johnson on April 17th, 2010ohmygoodnessohmygoodnessohmygoodness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There are not enough superlatives to describe the experience of watching TaikoProject perform! They are so skilled, polished, funny, humble and delightful. I need to get to bed to be ready to perform tomorrow, and I keep reliving the performance. Holy smokes! If you missed them today, be sure to catch them at the Cherry Blossom tomorrow. I know I’m gonna watch again! Thanks so much to Fort Wayne Dance Collective for bringing Maz, Brian, Jen, Courney, and the whole gang to Fort Wayne!
Manchester College Performance 4/11/2010
Written by Chris Johnson on April 11th, 2010We were delighted to perform at Manchester College’s International Fair today. The event organizers were so helpful to us. The audience was very appreciative. What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon! Special note of appreciation to Jackie Hinsey for her leadership today. You rock, sista! Here’s a sample of our work today – Tobimas (“Leap”) and then Streaming.
Training
Written by Jackie Hinsey on April 5th, 2010Physical training is as important to the taiko drummer as working on drumming skills. If you’ve witnessed Taiko, you’ve probably noticed that it is physical. Done well, it looks effortless and smooth but it takes a lot of work to make that happen. I believe cross-training is essential and being a big fan of our Public Library, I head to our downtown library and peruse the exercise selection. TaeBo, Aerobics, Boot Camp, Yoga, Pilates, Interval training, Fit to the Hits, Hula, Salsa, Tai Chi. Nothing is left untouched (although my attempt at Hip Hop was pretty hilarious). All of this creates the pathways for movement which makes the learning and integration of new material easier. For me, it’s a great way to start the day. So what are others doing out there?
TAIKOPROJECT Performance at the Arts United Center!
Written by Andy Welfle on March 11th, 2010| Apr |
| 17 |
| 8:00 pm |
Fort Wayne Taiko and Fort Wayne Dance Collective is pleased to announce a 3-day guest artist residency by the internationally-renowned TAIKOPROJECT, a Los Angeles-based drumming group. This residency includes a performance of “(re)generation” April 17, 2010 at 8 pm at the Arts United Center (see map below).
LA Weekly said of TAIKOPROJECT, “This ain’t your mama’s taiko, but it may be your hip, younger cousin’s”, and they couldn’t be more right. This company seamlessly blends fast-paced, exciting taiko with storytelling, music, hip-hop choreography, multimedia and dance.
In 2005, TAIKOPROJECT traveled to Japan to represent American taiko at the Tokyo International Taiko Contest. They took home the top prize, becoming the first foreign taiko group to win the contest. Earlier that year, they were featured in Mitsubishi Motor’s national ad campaign, featuring women in their group.
This 8-member company is in Fort Wayne for a three-day residency that includes educational lecture/demonstrations with schoolchildren, workshops for local taiko drummers and taiko enthusiasts, and will even be doing a demonstration during the Cherry Blossom Festival, happening downtown on April 18!
Reserved tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for children 12 and under. At the door, tickets are $30. They can be purchased by calling Fort Wayne Dance Collective at 260-424-6574 or by emailing info@fwdc.org. For more information about TAIKOPROJECT and their residency in Fort Wayne, visit www.fwdc.org/taikoproject.
FUN FACTS ABOUT TAIKO:
- Taiko, which means “big drum” in Japanese, is a drumming and movement art form from ancient Japan. In taiko, the movement is as important as the rhythm — drummers play rhythms with sticks using choreographed arm movements while dancing from drum to drum.
- Fort Wayne has our very own taiko group! Fort Wayne Taiko has been around since 2001 and has performed at countless local festivals, schools, and other events. See their website at www.fwtaiko.org.
- Drums (at least those used by Fort Wayne Taiko) are made out of 50-gallon bourbon barrels, skinned at both ends in cowhide and played in horizontal, diagonal and vertical positions. Read a history of the drums and see pictures at http://fwtaiko.org/who-we-are/the-drums
TAIKOPROJECT at the Arts United Center
Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, It’s back to work we go!
Written by Jackie Hinsey on March 11th, 2010Fort Wayne Taiko members have been hard at work preparing for Knock on Wood IV. New material, costuming, themes, and set ideas are under way as well as a new venue in the Downtown Library Auditorium. In February, we were lucky enough to have John Yost, of Kaiju Daiko, back in the Fort for a 5-hour workshop and another new and exciting piece of music to explore. This one is an original composition by John that his group performed at our 2008 concert. So the metronomes have come out again and members are being frustrated (and humbled) by that tiny piece of equipment. But its all worth it as we prepare for all the summer festivals and culminate with Knock on Wood IV on Nov 20, 2010.
KOW 3 was a blast!
Written by Chris Johnson on November 23rd, 2009Our Knock on Wood 3 performance was soooooooo much fun! We were all psyched and poised to give the best show possible.
Our audience was hugely receptive and appreciative of our performance. We experienced (some might say “endured”) weeks of learning new pieces or new parts of pieces, extra rehearsals, planning and organizing, etc.
All our hard work was more than worth the effort as we enjoyed our audience’s appreciation and the great fun of drumming with such a wonderful group of performers.
Special note of appreciation to our families and friends who are so helpful and supportive!