Tag ‘School Workshop Performances’
“The Interactive Performance Tour Begins!” by Akiko Ando
The Interactive Performance Tour Begins!
This is my fifth year on stage with Kodo and my first time performing on the School Workshop & Interactive Performance tour. Our first performance was at a school in Shinjo, Yamagata, last week.
The atmosphere and dialect of the Tohoku region made me feel nostalgic for my hometown area, Akita Prefecture.
I will tour with this cast until December this year. I hope you will come along and see our performance. I think it has a unique sound and feel that only the seven of us could create!
Kodo Interactive Performances
Sep.–Nov. 2016 (Japan)
http://www.kodo.or.jp/oet/index_en.html#schedule26b
“Moved to the Core” by Kosuke Urushikubo
Moved to the Core
Hello, everyone. How are you?
It has become really hot in Japan recently and the cicadas have already started chirping. I was on tour for the past couple of months with the School Workshop & Interactive Performances. We have completed our Spring–Summer 2016 tour and returned to Sado Island last week. I will be leaving Kodo soon, so my final performances will be the 35th Anniversary Commemorative Concerts in Tokyo and at Earth Celebration on Sado this August.
During my final tour, we mainly performed for school children in Kumamoto, Iwate, Niigata, and Hyogo Prefectures. We encountered a wide range of students on tour. Some of the pupils had never heard taiko before, some of them play taiko regularly, and some of them told us that our performance had made them want to start playing taiko.
In a world that is becoming more and more modern, I would like for children to not be only interested in the latest or most convenient things. I want them to know about classic or traditional things and then, based upon that knowledge, I want them to consider various new things. This is what I had in mind when I performed at schools on this tour.
When our performances would end, one student would share their impressions with us on behalf of the student body. I was really happy to hear some of them say things like, “It was my first time hearing taiko and it was interesting,” or “I want to explore Japanese music as well from now on.” At times, I felt my tears join the sweat on my face as they spoke to us.
I mentioned that our performances were mainly in four different prefectures on this tour. And they all have something in common: earthquakes. These four areas have experienced particularly large earthquakes. I heard locals talking about their experiences during and after the earthquakes and it was all unbelievable and unimaginable for me. Some taiko groups lost their practice space and instruments due to the damage from these earthquakes. My heart ached to hear about it all.
However, the people we met in these places had not lost their smiles. Some of them said to us, “The gods are telling us we can recover from this.” We had a chance to perform for people who were greatly affected by these devastating earthquakes and after our performances some of them said things to us like, “You’ve given me power to face tomorrow,” and “I feel confident again.” Personally, I was so happy to have so many wonderful encounters on my final School Workshop & Interactive Performance tour. I was happy to hear that I was able to help people in even a small way.
I sincerely hope they will recover from those disasters really soon. I hope our Interactive Performance tour will always continue, too.
Thank you very much to everyone who looked after us throughout our tour.
“Ninjas!” by Kenta Nakagome
I was captured by ninjas at Matsumoto Castle!
We performed at the Taiko Drum Festival at Matsumoto Castle and many of the elementary school children we met during our recent School Workshop Performances in Matsumoto came along to see us. It was so good to see them all again! We had a great time. Thank you very much, everyone in Matsumoto!
Kodo Guest Appearance at “The 28th Annual Taiko Drum Festival at Matsumoto Castle”
http://www.kodo.or.jp/news/20150725matsumotojo_en.html
“School Workshop Performances in Matsumoto” by Ryosuke Inada
June 22, 2015
Our School Workshop Performances in Matsumoto, Nagano, are coming to an end soon. Every day we meet a lot of children at each school we visit. I really treasure all of the encounters we have with the school kids every day.
My aim is to give a performance each time that makes all the kids, both the bubbly ones and shy ones alike, want to give us all a handshake or high five as they leave the performance. I want our visit to make them want to say, “See you again!” to us as we part ways.
I have realised that to make this happen, it is not just my performance that is important, which of course has to be good. I have to also mind the way I act in front of them and the way I talk to them in between each piece. They notice everything.
Children are very open and they give us a lot of power and energy. I think it is important for me to stand before them with openness and honesty. I want to return their energy with the sound and power of my own performance.
School Workshop Performances
http://www.kodo.or.jp/news/20150627koryu_en.html
“Hello Kodo” Small Ensemble Performance
July 20 (Mon), 2015 Kashiwazaki City Performing Arts Center Art Forêt, Kashiwazaki, Niigata
“School Workshop Performances in Nagano” by Masaru Tsuji
June 20, 2015
We are currently in Matsumoto, Nagano, using taiko to facilitate exchange with school children. Our visits are mainly to elementary schools, as well as some junior high schools, schools for children with special needs, and schools for children with visual impairments.
Everyday we are surrounded by kids, and they are all so sweet.
I don’t know what kind of impact our visit and taiko playing has on each child. I imagine that each and every one of them has their own unique response to us. I hope that our visit will make them feel something new, and maybe that will have an influence on them in the future in some way.
The world is filled with wonderful things that I hope these kids will experience throughout their lives. When I visit each school, I hope our visit and interaction with them is one of many good experiences for them.
We have two days to go of School Performances in Matsumoto. It has been great here.
I’ll do my best for the remaining performances and I’m looking forward to next time already!
School Workshop Performances
http://www.kodo.or.jp/news/20150627koryu_en.html
“Hello Kodo” Small Ensemble Performance
July 20 (Mon), 2015 Kashiwazaki City Performing Arts Center Art Forêt, Kashiwazaki, Niigata
“My Thirties: Episode 1” by Kenta Nakagome
I turned 30 this month.
Today, I spent another fun day playing taiko at elementary schools.
We all beat the taiko with all our might and made such a big racket, drumming and yelling!
Hip! Hip! Hip!
Hoooooooooray!!!
School Workshop Performances
http://www.kodo.or.jp/news/20150627koryu_en.html
“Hello Kodo” Small Ensemble Performance
July 20 (Mon), 2015 Kashiwazaki City Performing Arts Center Art Forêt, Kashiwazaki, Niigata
“My First Tour with Kodo” by Masaya Koike
June 18, 2015
I am currently in Matsumoto, Nagano, on my first ever tour with Kodo. I am a member of the School Performance Tour cast and we are spending about 3 weeks in Matsumoto giving performances at a range of schools.
I actually wrote about Kodo’s School Workshop Performances in my essay when I applied to become a Kodo apprentice because I was so interested in this side to Kodo’s activities. I think it is a wonderful programme because it allows the audience to sit up close to Kodo and feel the power of Kodo and taiko firsthand. The audience even has a chance to play taiko during the performance.
I play taiko, bamboo flutes, and metal percussion instruments in the current programme. We perform everyday so it is rather challenging, but I am doing my best to keep up with the others.
At the moment, we are mainly visiting elementary schools. The children have a sparkle in their eyes and they enjoy our performances and talk to us a lot. I have noticed that their presence and energy gives me a real boost.
At one of the elementary schools, one of the kids said, “Taiko is so cool!” That really stuck with me. I feel like our message really got through to them.
I think the biggest challenge for me on this tour is to discover myself. I want to answer some questions about myself: what do I want to do, what kind of person do I want to be, and who am I really? I want to take a close look at myself and figure out these answers.
Matsumoto is such a great place and I am enjoying every day here. They have really delicious soba noodles here, too! This tour has now passed the halfway mark. Our cast is also performing “Kodo Interactive Performances” for the general public, so if you have the chance, please come along and see us!
I am doing my best despite the summer heat! I want to share the joy of taiko with everyone, all over the world!
School Workshop Performances
http://www.kodo.or.jp/news/20150627koryu_en.html
“Hello Kodo” Small Ensemble Performance
July 20 (Mon), 2015 Kashiwazaki City Performing Arts Center Art Forêt, Kashiwazaki, Niigata
“School Workshop Performances in Yonezawa!” by Shogo Komatsuzaki
June 10, 2015
School Workshop Performances in Yonezawa, Yamagata
This week the One Earth Tour cast has split into two teams: one is in Asakusa giving “DADAN 2015” performances, and one is in Yonezawa giving “School Workshop Performances.” The DADAN performances feature a powerful, all-male cast drumming for 90 minutes non-stop. It’s the rainy season now in Japan so it’s quite muggy, but I’m sure all this energetic drumming will invigorate the audiences.
I am in Yonezawa with the School Workshop Performance team. We are giving upbeat performances at elementary schools.
I am really happy that Kodo has the chance to share the sound of taiko with audiences of all ages all over Japan and around the world. Also, our School Performances give us a chance to interact with so many children, so we get to help inspire future generations. I value everyday that I get to spend interacting with them and always do my best.
“On Tour with the Workshop Performances!” by Eri Uchida
June–July Workshop Performance Tour is Now Underway!
Our cast is back together again after the North America “Mystery” tour in winter, and the “Michi,” “Mono-Prism” and “Amaterasu” performances in spring. Every time we come back from a tour, the scenery on Sado Island has changed so much with the seasons that it never looks like we have returned to the same place. I feel the power of nature when I see these dramatic changes. It always makes me ask myself how much I have grown over the same span of time.
Our “Workshop Performance” cast had been apart working on various projects for almost half a year, but when we regrouped I think we had all become stronger and more reliable in many ways.
For our School performances, we perform in front of children who are sitting up close to us. If we tell them, “You can hear our drums even if you block your ears!,” or say “The drums make the air and the floor shake, so the sound also reverberates throughout your bodies!,” the children will block their ears and touch the floor, or even put their ears to the floor to have a listen. They all listen to our performance freely, as they please.
These sensations are something that they cannot experience through a TV or computer screen: they have to attend a live performance to experience our sound and vibrations like that. Nowadays, there is so much information available through technology and screens, but everyday on our tour I think about how important it is for people to experience and feel sensations offline, with their body and senses. I want the children to continue to do this. As I think about this, I continue to hone my own senses.
On our current tour we have spent almost 3 weeks in Matsumoto, Nagano. We perform 10 times a week, giving performances five days a week in the morning and afternoon. Everyday we learn so much from spending time with children, so it is a very fulfilling experience!
As our tour continues, I look forward to sharing our live sound and powerful vibrations with more and more people.
School Workshop Performances
http://www.kodo.or.jp/news/20150627koryu_en.html
July 20 (Mon), 2015 “Hello Kodo” Small Ensemble Performance, Kashiwazaki, Niigata
http://www.kodo.or.jp/news/20150720hajimete_en.html
“Kodo in June” by Tomohiro Mitome
June 1, 2015
Hello, everyone! I hope that you are well.
This is Tomohiro Mitome, leader of taiko performing arts ensemble Kodo.
June has begun. The sun’s rays are getting stronger and the forests on Sado are such a vivid green. I feel the power of Mother Nature through this intensity.
Until a few years ago, I spent spring traveling around Japan with the “Kodo One Earth Tour” performances, from the beginning of May until the end of June. When I would come back to Sado in June, I was always taken aback by the changes in nature between my departure and my return. As we passed through the dense gauntlet of trees to reach Kodo Village, I’d feel at home before we had even arrived.
Photo: Takashi Okamoto, Courtesy of Shochiku-za Theatre
Thanks to all of your support, May concluded on a high note after our successful “Amaterasu” performances at Shochiku-za Theatre in Osaka. Thank you very much to all of you who attended the performances. The previous encore performances were held two years ago, so this time even more young, new members joined the cast. I think “Amaterasu” provided them with such valuable experiences: they rose to the challenge of tackling new parts and instruments, and they were able to perform on stage with Kabuki luminary Tamasaburo Bando.
Around the same time, we held the fourth annual “Kodo Special Performances on Sado Island” near Kodo Village in the historic Shukunegi area. The cast was centered around Kodo’s distinguished members and also featured our new junior members, so there was a large age gap between the cast members (more than a generation!). These performances were a great opportunity for our junior members to learn from our senior members.
As usual, from June Kodo has planned a variety of performances in Japan including “Kodo One Earth Tour 2015: Eternity” performances and “School Workshop Performances.”
From June 10 to 15, our “DADAN 2015” performances will take place at Asakusa Public Hall in Tokyo. This year is the third year for Kodo to have a series of performances at Asakusa Public Hall in June. Thanks to warm local support, Kodo’s performances in Asakusa have gradually started to take root.