By: Allison Ballard
For the last eight days Fort Wayne Taiko has been happily working a taiko marathon. Last week, we taught classes and/or performed at schools every day, sometimes all day long. We performed before various assemblies of 400 to 500 and some days we taught up to nine classes in a row to groups of 50-60 students each. Over the weekend, Fort Wayne Taiko’s four professional drummers, four other adult taiko enthusiasts and two youth taiko students performed before an audience of several hundred people at Fort Wayne’s local Cherry Blossom Festival. I watched these new drummers confidently (and nervously!) hold their composure as members of an ensemble. Another two classes of student drummers served through Fort Wayne Taiko’s outreach program performed at their elementary school’s spring celebration and Fort Wayne Taiko presented the Japanese folk tale “How Taiko Was Born” as an interactive performance to families at Fort Wayne Youtheatre’s Second Annual Fairy Tale Fest.
In the past eight days, Fort Wayne Taiko has provided approximately 2,000 people ages 2 to senior citizens with hands-on taiko experiences and/or audience opportunities. We loaded drums and equipment in and out of vans and schools, worked with photographers and reporters, enjoyed wearing new costumes that were recently completed and performed with our new katsugi drums for the first time.
As we near the end of this taiko marathon, I am exhausted. And grateful. I am grateful for having the skills and knowledge needed to do the work. I am grateful for the instruments and support of fellow drummers and FWDC and for a community that embraces the work. I am grateful for the strength, endurance and mobility needed to embody this physically demanding art form. And I am proud. Eighteen years ago, I vowed that taiko would be a vibrant cultural force in the greater Fort Wayne community. Reflecting on these past eight days, I realize that is being accomplished. Taiko is alive and well in Northeast Indiana. I am proud. And grateful….and temporarily exhausted.
As the academic year comes to a close, it is time to rest. I am ready to watch TV. Clean my house. Connect with friends and families. Read. Reflect. And strategize how we grow from here. Taiko is alive and well in Northeast Indiana.
