This is how it all started…the blog, the journey, Taiko Journey…
Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship
In 2012 I was granted a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship; a grant to enable me to travel for a couple of months to deepen my understanding and experience of taiko. The grant covered basic travel and living costs, and I subsidised my grant with personal savings (or borrowings!) for some terrific tutorials and master classes as I traced the origin of taiko from Japan, to Hawaii to California and back to Europe over a period of three months. I then added a trip to New York to explore the East Coast Taiko scene.
I am still constantly amazed at how friendly, sincere and generous taiko people were, and the gifts of this trip are everlasting. Every time I find myself sharing taiko with others, or even sit down to work on the organisational aspects of Taiko Journey, I am reminded of a part of this trip…I am in contact with a lot of the people I met, and continue to talk about the Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship with passion – there’s more information about them below.
What did I want to achieve with the Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship?
I wanted to connect with roots and resources that would develop my taiko teaching and performance skills, and gain a wider cultural understanding of the taiko drumming art form.
I wanted to help to nurture the UK taiko community specifically by encouraging ergonomic movement and stylistic diversity, and by promoting community building through PJ Hirabayashi’s TaikoPeace initiative.
I wanted to bring taiko to a wider section of society, empowering individuals and groups to touch their potential in ways that reach far beyond the realms of the drum.
I also hoped to create strong, sustainable and open connections with the global taiko community that encourage artistic and cultural collaborations, something so important in this ever-troubled world.
Project Objectives:
- To encourage the celebration of taiko’s diversity and opportunity for innovation as well as tradition – this will be seen in performances at UK taiko festival and cultures of taiko groups around the UK
- To embrace the opportunity of learning from pioneers in worldwide taiko history, so I can pass on knowledge and skills with integrity
- To promote ergonomic taiko playing and kata based taiko in the UK where this is currently not a strong characteristic of UK taiko – to be seen in performances by UK taiko groups
- To strengthen UK connections with other taiko groups throughout the world
- To learn about taiko as a community builder and promote compassion as a way of taiko and a way of life through PJ Hirabayashi’s initiative ‘TaikoPeace’
- To gain greater confidence & skill in performing taiko on-stage throughout UK in order to inspire others through performance.
- To gain greater confidence & skill in teaching taiko so that I can begin to branch out and reach a wider audience of all ages and abilities in order to promote confidence, personal responsibility and to empower others.
Inspiration to Apply:
It was people in the wider global taiko community that gave me the courage to apply for the Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship grant – I had the idea and the desire, but I struggled with the concept of ‘being ready’ to take on such a responsibility.
It wasn’t until I went to the North American Taiko Conference at Stanford University, California in 2011 that I started to talk to people within the taiko community and they were so enthusiastic, encouraging and supportive of my idea that I started to believe that it might actually happen.
In the Autumn, Jonathan (Founder, Kagemusha Taiko, where I worked) encouraged me, wrote references and supported me through the several rounds of applications and an interview in London. I never thought I’d actually get it, but in Spring 2012 I was awarded a small Churchill Fellowship grant to travel to Japan and USA for 8 1/2 weeks. When I got the letter, I was overwhelmed with excitement, and then it hit me…I actually have to do this now. And then I was very, very quiet.
In March I went to San Jose, California to attend PJ Hirabayashi’s TaikoPeace Intensive and San Jose Taiko’s Naname Taiko Weekend Intensive. PJ Hirabyashi’s TaikoPeace initiative and the Charter for Compassion have become central to the entire project, and to my inspiration to play taiko. It was at the TaikoPeace Intensive, co-taught by Judith Kajiwara, that I felt something change…the concept that I was capable of stepping outside of who I am, to be who I want to be.
None of this would have happened without these amazing people supporting, encouraging and spending time and effort writing references, helping with project outlines, travel plans…I feel honoured and privileged to be doing this, and there’s a huge responsibility on me to give it my best shot…and this means reaching out to you again to ask for your support and understanding of what I want to achieve.
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust – “Travel to make a difference”
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust was established when Sir Winston Churchill died in 1965. Thousands of people, out of respect for the man and in gratitude for his inspired leadership, gave generously so that a living memorial to the great man could benefit future generations of British people. This fund now supports 100 Travelling Fellowships and ten Bursaries at Churchill College Cambridge, each year based on the Trust’s charitable Object of:
“The advancement and propagation of education in any part of the world for the benefit of British citizens of all walks of life in such exclusively charitable manner that such education will make its recipients more effective in their life and work, whilst benefiting themselves and their communities, and ultimately the UK as a whole”.
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust award Travelling Fellowships to British citizens from all walks of life to travel overseas, to bring back knowledge and best practice for the benefit of others in their UK professions and communities.To widen an individual`s experience in such a way that he or she grows in confidence, knowledge, authority and ambition. To bring benefit to others in the UK through sharing the results of the experience. This is achieved through:
the inspiration provided by the individual’s example – his or her subsequent performance and achievements
the dissemination and application of new knowledge, different perspectives and innovative solutions
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust have been extraordinary in helping so many people travel to follow their passions, and I positively encourage anyone interested in applying to go for it, wholeheartedly, right now – there’s no time to loose! Please contact me if there is anything I can do to help – I’m happy to talk through the process and help wherever I can.
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