New York City, Bergenfield High School Taiko & Cobu taiko…
A thread back to Honolulu…re-united in New York
Back in August, you might recall my delight at meeting two taiko teachers from the East Coast USA…it was pretty strange – me, from England, sitting on a bus in Honolulu hearing about Jonathan’s material being taught in East Coast High Schools – so strange, in fact, that I couldn’t let that be the end of it. Days later, at the end of the Taiko Centre of the Pacific taiko intensive, I made an agreement with Joan Froelich to come over to the high school she taught in, to meet the kids in her taiko club, and to teach them in return for board and lodgings – while it was always something that I intended to do, I’m aware that rarely do they actually happen. But it’s taiko, and where you find people that realise that the power of the strike goes far beyond the skin of the drum, you find people that make things happen, and as a result I find myself sitting here, in Joan’s house, after my first day with Bergenfield High School Taiko. Joan has put so much work into me being here; clearing her schedule, arranging rooms, moving commitments (and organising my schedule when I’m here!), and telling the kids about my visit – I’m being made to feel so welcome and right at home.
Bergenfield High School Taiko
So, today was my first day as Artist in Residence at a New Jersey high school, Bergenfield High School – I had a great time and can’t wait to start working with them next week. I asked them to play a song for me, which they did – a part of a song they learned from New York City group ‘Cobu’ who I am meeting tomorrow – so that I could see how they played and how they ran as a group. Their dedication to taiko leapt out from them – they loved playing, but I wanted to get to know what they thought about things too, so we went into a nearby classroom to talk for a bit.
“What do you like about taiko?”
Asking such a simple question as this opens so many doors – I’ll never tire of hearing people talk about why they do this. Everything from the connection to their Asian roots, to the freedom to make loud noises at the end of a long and focussed week, to playing an instrument that uses the body, the voice and drums and even to someone who recognises the beneficial effect that taiko has on his restless hands…to me, asking people to vocalise why they like it often opens up that channel of communication to themselves as well as to their group. It’s something that changes for me almost daily…why do I like playing taiko today? I think it’s always good to question, which is what we did as a group for the next few minutes as I showed them a Kagemusha Taiko slideshow that questions authenticity, what genuine taiko playing looks like, whether you can hear a taiko rhythm or if you need to see it to know it’s taiko…not having really questioned that stuff before, I was amazed at not just their listening, but their enthusiasm in getting involved with the discussion…I knew they were great kids who weren’t afraid of doing things a little differently for the week ahead.
Until then, I’m off to New York City to meet a couple of taiko groups, do some workshops, and yes, do a bit of sightseeing as it’s my first time on the East Coast and I’m pretty excited about being here. In fact, that’s an understatement – it seems like a long time ago that I was lucky enough to be in Honolulu on a taiko course in the first place, and now I feel utterly privileged to be here within sight of Manhattan.
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