Odaiko New England

The Taiko March

While we were at Summer Taiko Institute, Tanya, Beth and I had the unique opportunity to join Kris Bergstrom of On Ensemble in a demonstration of the Taiko March, a piece he had composed and choreographed as part of the Taiko Games at North American Taiko Conference. He had had everything planned out, but […]

’twas the night before Taiko Institute

Beth, Tanya and me playing in the trees near the La Brea Tar Pits

It’s finally August, and that means Taiko Conference and Summer Taiko Institute!

Tanya, Beth and I have never been to Taiko Conference before, and we decided to jump in with both feet and do it all! Beth and I […]

Happy Happi!

Odaiko New England showing off our new happi coats

The Harvard Lampoon celebration was our first chance to get a group shot in our new noshi ribbon happi coats. We’re a pretty decent looking group, if I do say so myself.

[…]

Two upcoming workshops to learn taiko!

You can learn taiko at our upcoming workshops! Here’s the info from our website:

In our popular workshops, new drummers learn taiko fundamentals such as kata (form), kiai (vocalization) and kumidaiko (ensemble drumming). Translation: Look really cool while yelling and hitting things with friends!

Using our entire bodies to drum, we’ll explore first-hand the […]

Odaiko New England meets Shidara – again

Just over a week ago, Odaiko New England founding member Karen Young and advanced student Shane Tysk left Boston and flew to Japan to take part in a two week residency with Shidara. Shidara is a professional taiko group living and practicing in Toei, in the remote regions of Japan’s Aichi prefecture.

During our […]

The Makings of a Great Taiko Performance: Attitude

This past weekend was a whirlwind of taiko events, and has already been written about in one or two other blog posts. However, being the sort of person I am, who always has to insert her opinion into the conversation, I’m writing yet another. Enjoy!

For me, the weekend stressed the importance of Attitude […]