TAIKO DRUM AND DANCE ENSEMBLE TO PERFORM

Forty members of Japan's famed Tamagawa University Taiko Drum and Dance Group will fill Goodhart Theater with thunderous drumming and several types of traditional Japanese dance on Monday, April 10, at 7 p.m.

This event and a reception scheduled to follow are free and open to the public.

"Taiko" is the Japanese word for a kind of large drum of ancient origin, but outside Japan, the word has become shorthand for the modern art of kumi-daiko, or ensemble drumming. Taiko performances in this tradition often involve enormous athleticism and balletic coordination, with drummers who carry out acrobatic movements as they beat the drums with large, cylindrical sticks.

Tamagawa Taiko, led by choreographer-drummer Isaburoh Hanayagi, is considered one of Japan's finest ensemble taiko drumming groups. Hanayagi, who was first trained as a classical Kabuki dancer, has incorporated both Kabuki and folkloric dance traditions into the Tamagawa ensemble's performances. Concertgoers will see masks, beautiful and colorful costumes, elements of folk dance, and original and traditional compositions. The performance will also include a fully costumed dance by five junior Geishas.

Hanayagi will also lead a master class introducing students to the elements of Japanese dance on Monday, April 10, from 1-2 p.m. in Pembroke Studio. The class is free and open to all dancers, movers, actors, musicians or folks with related interest. Please call the Dance Office at 610-526-5208 to reserve a space.

The performance is part of this year's two-week long Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia, or Sakura Matsuri, as it is known in Japanese.

Companies of Tamagawa University performing-arts students have performed worldwide since 1961 in locations as diverse as Africa, Canada, Greece, Indonesia, London, Malaysia, Mexico and the United States.

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