“‘Team Uchida’ Prepares for the Next Workshop Performance Tour” by Kenta Nakagome

Posted: 2014/11/13 tags: Kenta Nakagome, Workshop Performances | Posts by Kodo Members

Rehearsals for the new-look “Workshop Performances,” on the road from late November, have just started. This programme is directed by Eri Uchida and performed by a newly assembled cast. It has a whole new feel, too!
I will play the o-daiko (big drum) on this tour. I am already so excited!

Now that I have gained stage and performing experience, I feel like I can do a variety of things, but when I approach the o-daiko, I want to forget everything and feel brand new each time. As I beat the drum, I just let myself go rather than trying to express myself.
I asked Yoshikazu, “How can you play the o-daiko just by improvisation, without deciding any of the phrases you will play?” and he replied, “I go into the sound that I create.” His words really stayed with me. Now, I play as I feel, encouraged by my own sound. Since he said that to me, I find that the more I play the o-daiko, the more I feel like I can get into the sound and the taiko itself.

The reverberations from the taiko wash over me as I drum and evoke all kinds of feelings, which I want to experience fully, one by one.

Kodo | Workshop Performances
http://www.kodo.or.jp/news/20141200koryu_en.html