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| Feb/March | The 2007 Workshop Tour with Chieko Kojima and Kaoru Watanabe The 2007 Workshop Tour was with Kodo's principal dancer Chieko Kojima and former player and current artistic director of Earth Celebration, Kaoru Watanabe. The tour took them to Honolulu, Maui, Los Angeles, San Jose, Winnipeg, St Louis, Minneapolis, Boston, Stony Brook, and New York City. A bonus and added attraction to this tour were some incredible concerts along the way: Honolulu with Kenny Endo, Maui with Zenshin Daiko, and Los Angeles with guest Shoji Kameda of On Ensemble. |
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| Feb/March | The 2006 Workshop Tour with Eiichi Saito and Masami Miyazaki Most taiko workshops tend to focus on technique, but Kodo's Eiichi Saito believes that there is a lot to learn before you worry about the way you hold your bachi or how hard you hit the drum. Known for their high-energy style, Eiichi's workshops are a mix of hard work and hard play designed to help you cultivate passion and build group awareness when you play the drum. Eiichi uses a series of simple drills that energize the group and enhance communication among members, drills that will become invaluable tools in group practices for years to come. This year's workshop tour ran from February 16 thru March 8 and took Eiichi and Masami to Seattle, Vancouver, Portland, San Jose, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Maui, and Kauai. |
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| Feb/March | The KASA 2005 Workshop Tour with Yoshikazu Fujimoto and Masami Miyazaki The 2005 Workshop Tour was honored to have as workshop leaders Yoshikazu Fujimoto and Masami Miyazaki. The tour took them to Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Chicago, Denver, Phoenix, Tucson, Emeryville, San Jose, Honolulu, Kauai, and Maui.. |
| July | KASA at the North American Taiko Conference The 2005 North American Taiko Conference was held in Los Angeles in August for over 500 taiko practitioners across the U.S. and Canada. KASA was honored to coordinate with Kodo to present the Kasuga Onigumi ondeko drummers and dancers in their first-ever appearance outside of their home on Sado Island. They held a workshop, discussion, performance, and a demonstration of their traditional "kadozuke" through the streets of Los Angeles' Little Tokyo. Please see board member Daniel Rosen's interview with Kasuga Onigumi members after the conference, reflecting on their history and . |
| September | The 2005 KASA-MIX Tour KASA/MIX 2005 was held from September 1-12. Leaders Toni Yagami and Chie Otsuka took participants to Tokyo and Sado Island to live at Kodo's Apprentice Centre and study taiko, dance and song with Kodo instructors led by Eiichi Saito, Chieko Kojima, and Yoko Fujimoto. See Toni's summary of this amazing tour. |
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| March | The 2004 Workshop Tour with Kodo's Ryutaro Kaneko The 2004 KASA North America Workshop tour was a two-week whirlwind trip up and down the West Coast of the United States. Ten workshops were held in seven cities with a total of over 250 people participating and dozens more observing.Click here for a full report by tour manager/interpreter Daniel Rosen. |
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| Feb/March | 2003 Workshops Tour with Eiichi Saito and Masami Miyazaki A member of Kodo for nearly 20 years, Eiichi Saito has emerged as the group's primary workshop leader. Eiichi's workshops focus less on technique and more on cultivating a passionate approach to playing the taiko. The 2003 workshop tour included a four-day residency workshop in which 14 members of the taiko community had the opportunity to live and work together for intensive instruction and an exchange of ideas. Click here for a full Tour Report. |
| July 31 through August 3 | KASA will participated in the 2003 North American Taiko Conference, a gathering in Sacramento, CA of taiko enthusiasts from around the world. KASA's participation in the conference was done in cooperation with the Kodo Cultural Foundation. KASA hosted two workshops at the conference with Kodo member Eiichi Saito, and our "Free Talk" session offered an open forum where members of the community could learn more about our programs and add their input about their hopes and dreams for KASA. Click here for a report on the 2003 North American Taiko Conference. |
| September | KASA/Mix Tour 2003! In 2003, KASA joined forces with Rhythmix Cultural Works to bring 23 North American taiko enthusiasts to the Kodo Apprenticeship Centre on Sado Island, Japan, as part of a tour of taiko-related sites. This project provided an extremely rare opportunity for members of the taiko community in Japan to meet and work with their American counterparts.Click here for photos and a full Tour Report. |
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| July/August | 2002 was a great opening year for KASA. Our first official workshop tour with Kodo's Yoko Fujimoto and Chieko Kojima got rave reviews all over the USA. Click here for the complete tour report complete with photos by tour manager Chie Otsuka. The workshop tour culminated in Seattle where Yoko and Chieko joined the Kodo One Earth Tour to perform a sold-out Concert to benefit KASA at Benaroya Hall. This inaugural event was a great success thanks to the many friends and members of the taiko community who came out to show their support. Local taiko groups opened the evening with a live performance in the lobby, and Kodo brought down the house. Click here for a full report. |