{"id":2334,"date":"2014-12-10T12:02:19","date_gmt":"2014-12-10T03:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/?p=2334"},"modified":"2014-12-10T12:04:05","modified_gmt":"2014-12-10T03:04:05","slug":"looking-back-over-2014-by-tomohiro-mitome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/posts-by-kodo-ensemble-leader\/20141210_2334.html","title":{"rendered":"“Looking Back Over 2014” by Tomohiro Mitome"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dec. 1, 2014
\n<\/br>
\nHello, everyone. This is Tomohiro Mitome, leader of taiko performing arts ensemble Kodo.
\nIt\u2019s\u00a0December now and there is some snow up on top of Sado’s highest peak, Mt. Kimpoku. However, the end of this year is somewhat warmer than usual.<\/p>\n

While it may\u00a0be a little early, I would like to take the time now to look back over this past year for Kodo.<\/p>\n

\"Kodo-5541-Simon\"Photo:\"DSC_0069-2-ss\"<\/h3>\n

At the beginning of 2014, “Kodo One Earth Tour 2014: Legend” set off on its European tour while\u00a0soloists & small-group projects held performances around Japan.<\/p>\n

In spring, we had “Kodo One Earth Tour: Mystery” performances, \u00a0a “Workshop Performance” tour, and\u00a0“Kodo Special Performances on Sado Island,” as well as various\u00a0small-group projects, all here in Japan.<\/p>\n

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In June, we held “Mystery” performances for five days at Asakusa Public Hall in Tokyo. It was our second time to give a series of performances there and once again, it was\u00a0a great success. This time, we were able to deepen the\u00a0bond between Kodo and the locals in Asakusa even further. We really appreciate their support.<\/p>\n

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\nIn July, the School Workshop Performance tour members\u00a0performed “DADAN” in Europe, which featured new pieces in a power-packed programme. We have been running two separate tours simultaneously for some time now, but this\u00a0was the first time for us to perform two\u00a0programmes directed by Tamasaburo Bando at the same time. This experience gave both the\u00a0Kodo members and staff new-found\u00a0confidence.<\/p>\n

Then in August, we had our summer festival “Earth Celebration” here at home on Sado Island.<\/p>\n

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On the first night, all 32 Kodo members appeared on the Shiroyama Concert stage together. Ranging from junior members to Distinguished Members, this is the largest Kodo cast to ever take the stage at one time. The\u00a0number of Kodo performers has been on the rise in recent years, but\u00a0it is very rare for us to all perform together. The newest\u00a0members brought their youthful energy, the veteran members brought their well-honed skills, and from the rehearsals to the stage, we all had a great time learning from each other and stimulating each other creatively.<\/p>\n

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\nIt was wonderful to reaffirm our connection through taiko, regardless of generation. I think the audience must have felt the depth of our 30+ years of history through our performance.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>\"Photo:<\/a>\"Photo:<\/a>\"Photo:<\/h3>\n

On the second night, we welcomed\u00a0guest artist \u201cBLUE TOKYO,\u201d a group of highly-trained, physically-honed\u00a0rhythmic gymnasts.<\/p>\n

On the third\u00a0day, we were joined by guest artist\u00a0“DAZZLE,” a creative dance ensemble, and former “Blue Hearts” drummer Tetsuya Kajiwara. Through these\u00a0collaborations, we aimed to\u00a0create new fusions and forms of expression, beyond\u00a0any particular genre.
\n<\/br>
\nIn the fall, we had some cast changes before setting off\u00a0on two domestic tours: “Kodo One Earth Tour:\u00a0Mystery” and the “School Workshop Performance” tour. Here at home, we held more\u00a0“Kodo Special Performances on Sado Island,” featuring our veteran members, who also gave performances\u00a0around Japan as soloists or with\u00a0small-group projects. Fall marked the final performances in Japan for production “Mystery.” Thank you very much to everyone who came along to see it!\u00a0Next, this production\u00a0will tour around\u00a0North America in 2015.<\/p>\n

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In November, the members regrouped to rehearse\u00a0for two\u00a0new productions: “Kodo One Earth Tour: Eternity” and a newly-directed “School Workshop Performance” tour.\u00a0On Nov. 20, “Eternity” had its premiere performance on Sado Island.<\/p>\n

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All of the pieces featured in this production are brand new and a high-level of performance technique and expression is required of the entire cast. Audiences will surely feel first-hand the brand new step than Kodo has taken in stage expression through this programme.<\/p>\n

Both of our year-end tours will last for a month. When we are at a theater near\u00a0you, please come along to see us! We look forward to sharing our new programmes with you all.<\/p>\n

I’m sure this is a busy time of year for you, too, but I hope that you can take some time to relax and enjoy ending your year with us and the sound of our taiko.<\/p>\n

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Dec. 1, 2014 Hello, everyone. This is Tomohiro Mitome, leader of taiko performing arts ensemble Kodo. It\u2019s\u00a0December now and there is some snow up on top of Sado’s highest peak, Mt. Kimpoku. However, the end of this year is somewhat warmer than usual. While it may\u00a0be a little early, I would like to take the time now to look back over this past year for Kodo. At the beginning of 2014, “Kodo One Earth Tour 2014: Legend” set off on its European tour while\u00a0soloists & small-group projects held performances around Japan. In spring, we had “Kodo One Earth Tour: Mystery” performances, \u00a0a “Workshop Performance” tour, and\u00a0“Kodo Special Performances on Sado … \u25b6\u7d9a\u304d\u3092\u8aad\u3080<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[26,88,102,6,82,7,43,35,136],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2334"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2334"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2334\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2345,"href":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2334\/revisions\/2345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kodo.or.jp\/blog_en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}