Taiko drumming

Beat of different drummers

By Stephanie Schorow
Globe Correspondent / March 6, 2008

Taiko is not only about beating out rhythms with such joy and exuberance that the walls vibrate and the floor quivers, although that's definitely part of the experience. It's not just about putting on a show that gets an audience clapping their hands and rocking in their seats. It's not just about storytelling with energy and humor.

No, explains Teresa Enrico, artistic codirector of Portland Taiko (portlandtaiko.org), taiko is about respect, perseverance, and, most of all, spirit. There's the spirit of the drum itself. There's the spirit of the audience. And there's the spirit of the taiko performers, who use their whole bodies when they perform with the various Japanese drums.

"I describe taiko as a wonderful mix [of music] and choreographed movements and martial arts, " said Enrico, a musician and community organizer in Portland, Ore., who became interested in taiko about 10 years ago.

Portland Taiko, founded in 1994, has both a community education program and a professional touring group. Enrico has watched taiko gain popularity among Asian-Americans who have added new elements to this ancient musical form.

New England also has taiko and Japanese drumming groups, including Odaiko New England (onetaiko.org).

The Portland ensemble's innovative approach is demonstrated in a song called "Fusion," which was inspired by the R&B funk of James Brown and incorporates aspects of improvisational jazz. In another piece, called "TaikoKinesis," the performers move quickly among the drums, in choreography that "captures the power of the drum," Enrico said.

The song "Itsuka," which means someday, starts out "in a dream-like state," as if in a rice field; Enrico adds to the mood by playing the "shinobue," a bamboo Japanese flute. "You can see the sweeping stalks of rice in the wind," she said.

The song, which was written by co-artistic director Michelle Fujii, then turns harsh as reality intervenes. "Michelle wrote that song inspired by the idea that you have to fight for your dreams," Enrico said. Fujii was also influenced by folk dances that have been done for centuries in the north of Japan.

These works will be among the pieces presented in Lowell and Concord by four Portland Taiko performers: Enrico, Fujii, Dane Fujimoto, and Noel Garcia. The family-oriented performances also will get the audience drumming, using their hands and laps.

Another change that Americans have brought to traditional taiko is the large number of women participating in this form of drumming. "Historically in Japan, [taiko] was all men," Enrico said. In North America, the majority of players in taiko community groups have been women, she said, adding, "There's something about the drum as a way of expressing ourselves."

Indeed, nothing breaks down the stereotype of quiet, demure Asian women faster than seeing strong and confident women playing the drums, Enrico said. The first time she saw a public performance by one very shy woman, who had started studying taiko in a community group, she said, "It brought tears to my eyes because of what a different person she was when she was on stage - not just being on stage, but playing the drum."