This can be a stressful time or it can bring a cohesion to the group.  And it can be a mixture of both.  We draw on each other’s strengths and use that to our advantage.  Where one person is weaker, usually someone else can step in and take up the slack.  That is what makes a group stronger.  It is also a gift in our group that it is a collaborative effort to put this show together.  Each one of us contributes what we are comfortable with and we all take a risk to do a little something out of our comfort zone.  After all, taiko is a way of life that stretches our bodymind and helps us grow.

I hope you all come to witness our next Knock on Wood at the Fort Wayne Allen County Public Library, Main Branch Theatre, Saturday, November 20 @ 7 p.m.  It will be a great show!!!!!

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