Kodo One Earth Tour: Evolution – Kodo Taiko Performing Arts Ensemble

“One Earth” by Ryotaro Leo Ikenaga

melanie — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 03:25:22 +0000

Throughout my travels, I have been blessed with opportunities to meet many inspiring people from around the globe.
While I keep most of these conversations close to my heart, there is one quote in particular that I was reminded of during my time in China, which I’d like to share.

“Music and performing arts have the power to make the walls between us become a little bit lower. While it may only be a really little difference, it is a very significant difference.”

China has always been a country that was close yet far for me. Growing up internationally, making friends and meeting people of Chinese descent was nothing out of the ordinary. Chinese people make up the majority of inbound tourists in Japan, and I’ve always been surrounded by things that were “Made in China.” But the country itself? It has always been a great unknown for me. So I wondered…
Will people come to our concert?
Will they like it?
Are we going to be able to do this?

As we wrapped up our first performance in Guangzhou, I remember thinking, “What was I worried about?”

The applause and cheers that we received were as big as we’ve ever received. The audience was ecstatic.

It’s those moments that I think to myself that perhaps what we do has some meaning in this world after all. Maybe just a little bit, but maybe just enough.

My sincerest gratitude to the wonderful people who made this tour happen, and to the amazing audiences in China.

Xiexie!

Kodo members watching the instruments getting packed up for transport back to Japan.

Schedule

“My First Tour” by Sunao Maehama

melanie — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 03:54:11 +0000

My First Tour

Nice to meet you, everyone. I’m Sunao Maehama, a Kodo junior member. Kodo’s “Evolution” tour in China is my very first tour.

Passing over Sado Island and Kodo Apprentice Centre on the way from Niigata to Shanghai.

Within a week of becoming a junior member earlier this year, I heard which performances I had been cast in for the year ahead. That was when I found out that my first international tour would be in China. I also learned I would be appearing in “Ake no Myojo,” a taiko, song, and dance number.

Rehearsing “Ake no Myojo” at Shanghai MISA

Each junior member is given distinct challenges. One of the challenges listed for me was expressing my femininity. One of the senior Kodo members told me that Ake no Myojo puts the spotlight on female performers and requires femininity.

In this piece, you move while carrying and playing a taiko drum. So if you don’t create a stable axis with your body, it doesn’t look good. You have to synchronize the timing of the loud and quiet tones of the drum with the movements of your body. It requires precision. I received all kinds of advice from the senior members, such as keeping my legs close together when I pivot.

Rehearsals before opening night in Shanghai

On opening night, I was really nervous but I gave it my all. I think left everything I’ve learned to date on the stage.

“Evolution” opening night in Shanghai

As I write this, so far I’ve only performed twice on this tour. Something I have noticed and constantly feel when I perform with Kodo is what it’s like when the sound you create resonates in the bodies and hearts of others.

I am still very new to the ensemble and I’m desperately trying to keep up with everyone. I’ll do my best at our Guangzhou and Beijing performances, too!

Schedule

“OK!!!” by Yuta Kimura

melanie — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 08:26:54 +0000

We carry out detailed checks before each performance.
We check the position of our equipment, our drumsticks, the tuning of the drums, and so on…
When everything is in position, we say “Pre-Set OK!”

One of the things I really like about Kodo since entering the group is that everyone handles the drums with a great deal of care.

Everyone pays attention to the condition of the skins, of course, but Kodo performers also wipe the drums before the performance so they look beautiful when we take the stage.

One of the more senior members once told me, “Be prepared for anything that could possibly happen.”

No matter where I am, what kind of venue, or who is coming to watch us perform, one thing is constant: I make sure I always do a thorough pre-performance check so I can deliver my best performance.

We still have many places left to visit on our North America tour.

We want our sentiments to reach the audience through our sound.
With that in mind, we carefully prepare for every performance until we can say with confidence:
“Pre-set OK!!!”

Coming Up Next:

“The Limitless Possibilities” by Yui Kamiya

melanie — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 14:58:38 +0000

March 24, 2019

Kodo’s mission is to “explore the limitless rhythmic possibilities of taiko, and in the process, forge new directions for a vibrant living art-form.”
But I also believe that taiko has the endless ability to gather and connect people.
This is what I think is the most attractive aspect of taiko.

Tomorrow marks our final performance of our two-month-long North American tour of ‘Evolution.’
We were so lucky to have met and reunited again with new and olds friends across this continent.

To the local taiko groups who are talented in so many ways in embracing their creativity, and to our long time friends who have been watching and listening to our performances from way back when: Thank you so much to everyone who has come out to our performances this year!
Everyone’s passionate hearts for taiko definitely gave us energy and strength to pull through the tour.

The possibilities are still limitless.
Who have we not met yet? Who is still out there? What will our friendships bring?
These are just a few thoughts that excite me!

Tour Finale

Mar 25 (Mon), 2019 National Arts Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

“The Different Reasons Behind Our Thoughts” by Ami Akimoto

melanie — Sat, 23 Mar 2019 07:08:35 +0000

Hi everyone, I’m Ami Akimoto. In March, I was touring for the first time with Kodo as an assistant manager on the “Evolution” North America tour.

I have seen Kodo’s performances as an audience member many times before, however there was so much more that to learn about Kodo that I not seen before stepping behind the scenes as a staff member on this tour.

As I spent time on this tour, I had realised that there are so many different thoughts that existed in all the people who were a part of or had encountered Kodo. The performance and staff members on the tour all had their own reasons and unique thoughts, individual challenges, personal goals, and uncertainties to overcome. But there was always a sense of respect and understanding towards each other, which may assist in creating the feeling of ‘oneness’ as a group, transforming each performance into something spectacular on stage.

Personally, as I spent more time with the members, I found that the feelings I had towards watching each performance changed as well. I gained a new sense of appreciation and started to notice something new every time.

I had also discovered, through the direct contact with the audience members as part of my role in the tour, that the audience members all had very unique thoughts and different senses of appreciation for the performance they saw. It was not only from the love they had for taiko: there were also people who enjoyed the energy they felt through all senses in their body. There were people who seemed to be filled with a sense of courage and passion, perhaps simply from seeing the beaming performers on stage. And others who felt motivated to change in a positive way after seeing the dedication from the performers, just to name a few. I felt that this was proof of Kodo’s ability to connect and create something special that resonated and lingered differently within the souls of many people.

This was also true for the many local venue volunteers and staff members, bus drivers and stage hand staff that we met during the tour. Whether there was a common language spoken or not, it seemed that there were always smiles and positivity wherever we travelled, and new connections and relationships formed.

As I spent time on the tour, I realised that there are many feelings, numerous different reasons, and countless desires that wondrously co-exist and bring everyone together.

In line with the wish behind the title “One Earth Tour,” I hope that Kodo continues to be a special part of many souls, overcoming language and cultural barriers, resonating with an even wider audience from around the world.

Furthermore, I hope that the art of taiko can help to bring people together to understand one another, to form many special connections, and create infinite possibilities!

“Extra Challenges” by Issei Kohira

melanie — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 04:47:22 +0000

Our “Evolution” North America Tour is gradually nearing its end. We are all doing well.

This time, I have the added challenges of playing chappa (cymbals) and bamboo flutes on stage, as well as taiko.

Considering baseball player Shohei Otani is called a two-way player for pitching and fielding, perhaps I’m a three-way player?
It sounds presumptuous for me to say that, but I am grateful for this rare opportunity.

I have a lot to work on for each different instrument, and I need to work on my mindset and how I use my body, too. I don’t want to tackle any of these challenges half-heartedly. As I focus on each challenge, I am acutely aware that becoming a good all-rounder is not an easy goal.

However, I do have feelings of fulfillment. No matter what instrument I play, I will keep doing my best each day and hope I can connect with our audiences.

We’re into the second half of our tour now. Along with my energetic, smiling colleagues, I’ll continue to give it my all as we share Kodo’s sound with the people of North America.

I’ll keep doing my best!

“Spending Time with Young American Taiko Players” by Yuki Hirata

melanie — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 07:56:03 +0000

I met three sixteen-year-old taiko players who were born and raised in the USA.

They first encountered taiko through a community group when they were in elementary school.
They love taiko and all still play.

These young US taiko players were so interested to meet taiko players from Japan.
They asked us questions like:

“When and how did you get into playing taiko?”
“What kind of practice do you do?”
“Do you compose songs?”
“The way you use your body to play frisbee is similar to how you use it to play taiko, don’t you think? (This one was from a frisbee player)

At our exchange event

Most of our one and a half hour chat was a barrage of questions from them.

When I had the chance, I asked them, “What is it about taiko that you like?”
One of them answered, “The sound of our taiko makes the audience smile and feel happy. How cool is that? That makes me really happy. Also, I like the vibrations you feel in your body when you play.”

Then the three of them said, “Most of all, playing taiko is fun!”

Seeing them talking happily about taiko with a sparkle in their eyes reminded me that all taiko players have something important in common: that feeling of enjoyment when we play.
Taiko is fun!

Workshop in Boulder, Colorado

The appeal of taiko has reached places far away from Japan.
In completely different environments, taiko players around the world are hooked on the same instruments as us.
We’re all crazy about taiko.

At an exchange event

The taiko community is expanding around the world.
Let’s connect more and more, and make the good vibrations of taiko reach further and further.

“Martin’s Birthday” by Tomoe Miura

melanie — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 05:06:41 +0000

Feb. 16, 2019

Happy Birthday, Martin!

Hello from Los Angeles in chilly North America!

We’ve been enjoying ourselves here, eating our first Japanese food in a while in Little Tokyo, going shopping, and so on.

Free time for practice and warm ups at Walt Disney Concert Hall

In L.A., we performed at Walt Disney Concert Hall on the birthday of our indispensable technical director Martin. His birthday has become a regular pre-Valentine’s Day event on our foreign tours!

Martin has been touring outside Japan with Kodo since 2007. As our technical director, Martin gives directions to the staff at each theater and operates our lightning. He is an essential member of our team.

This year, my fellow cast member Issei was in charge of organizing Martin’s birthday surprise. He started planning the surprise from about a week before and liaised with our tour managers in preparation for the big day.

Issei, the surprise organizer, studying hard to memorize his lines in English.

At the end of the rehearsal at Walt Disney Concert Hall, he arranged for there to be a request to rehearse one piece, Yuyami, again. Backstage, there would be a cake covered with strawberries, Martin’s favorite, and the staff would light all the candles quickly when they heard the cue. (We got special permission from the venue to use candles inside the venue.)

When the rehearsal ended, Martin looked like he was heading backstage so one of the managers frantically stopped him, saying they needed to run through a certain piece one more time. The performers quickly did the necessary set change on stage. Martin changed the lighting to the setting for Yuyami, and it was time for the surprise to begin!

▼ If you’d like to listen to Yuyami, click play below.

https://www.kodo.or.jp/discography/od018/od018_02.mp3

Usually performers with flutes would enter for stage left and right, but this time the flutes came in from stage left and a cake with flickering candles appeared from stage right. Issei recited a birthday message for Martin to the music of Yuyami. At the end of his speech, he gave a cue and all the cast members sang “Happy Birthday” together.

We gave Martin a card signed by all of us. The surprise was a big success! I could tell by the lovely smile on Martin’s face.

Happy Birthday, Martin! Thank you for everything.
We look forward to the rest of the tour with you!

Yuyami is featured on Kodo album “Kaden”
Available from Kodo Online Store

“School Performances in North America During the ‘Evolution’ Tour” by Jun Jidai

melanie — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 02:49:26 +0000

After our opening night in Las Vegas, we had back-to-back performances for three days in Berkeley, California.

On the first two days, we performed “Evolution.” Then on Day 3, we changed into our indigo-blue Kodo costumes and gave a completely different performance at the same theater: a program especially for school children.

The audience was made up of almost 2000 students from local schools, elementary through high school. Eight cast members from “Evolution” delivered this school performance: Kengo Watanabe, Ryoma Tsurumi, Tomoe Miura, Issei Kohira, Yuta Kimura, Chihiro Watanabe, Taiyo Onoda, and I.

It was a really exciting experience for only eight of us to give a performance in such a massive hall!

During our school performances, we take turns speaking to the audience during the program. Because we’re in the USA, that meant whenever we were the MC, we had to speak in English. We all had the extra challenge of giving our self introductions in English, too.

It’s my first time giving School Performances overseas. My goal is to communicate with our audiences through taiko, fostering meaningful exchange beyond language and culture.

We also have School Performances in Hanover, Amherst, Burlington during this tour. We’ll give our all to this challenge alongside our theater performances.

“Voices” by Taiyo Onoda

melanie — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 03:27:05 +0000

Our 2019 North American tour’s second and third shows were held at Berkeley, a city close to my heart.

Many, many friends and family came to support me, since it’s close to my hometown San Francisco and my alma mater. Both shows, I got caught off guard by the amount of cheers I got during the curtain call, and I got a bit teary, too.

Like the performance I appeared in last November, it is the most nerve-wracking experience to perform in front of a home crowd. The more I think about the people that know me, the more I pressure myself to show how I’ve grown. However, this time I was able to let go of that thought and be as natural as possible. I aimed to be myself, believing that I’ve grown.

The tour has just begun. Many challenges will surely arise, but I’ll take them all on and move forward, step by step. I’ve received the energy to do so from the voices of my friends and family.

Taiyo Onoda surrounded by members of San Francisco Taiko Dojo, San Jose Taiko, and his family.