By: Allison Ballard, Founder/Director of Fort Wayne Taiko
It was canceled three times! A simple trip to Indianapolis to perform a taiko show at an elementary school was canceled three times due to snow. Arts for Learning, a statewide organization that markets art performances to schools grades K-12, first booked the show on January 6, the first Monday back from Christmas break. It was intended to be a welcome back performance for students, but school was canceled that entire week. So the show was rescheduled for late January, but school was closed because it was too cold. So the show was rescheduled for February 17. And alas, it was another day of snow. The unfulfilled contract became an ironic joke. When Fort Wayne Taiko finally rolled the drums into the school’s gymnasium on March 14, it was a celebratory moment that was almost delayed by the huge snow that fell on March 12. When the students finally filed in to find their seats, it was a feeling of triumphant success–even though a single beat had not yet been played.
Fort Wayne Taiko was happy to be able to present its Tanoshi performance, a show that was created and customized specifically for Arts for Learning audiences. Performed by four drummers playing three chu daikos and a shime, the show includes an array of traditional taiko songs mixed with some original material, including a theatrical sound story of the Japanese folk tale of how taiko was born. The show also gives students a chance to play the drums, introduces basic taiko technique and taiko language and teaches them to count from 1 to 8 in Japanese. The show can be adapted in the moment to appeal to kindergarteners or high schoolers. All of this in a cost-efficient design that allows needed equipment and drummers to fit into a single van.
So let it be known, whenever the snow finally clears, Fort Wayne Taiko is ready to roll!
