NATC 2025 Phoenix

ShastaYama Odori is a composition by Russel Baba which uses two simple traditional patterns interlocking to create a new or different overall sound to dance to.

Basic needs are one Odaiko, 2 shime, one chu, atarigane, & fue. Each has a part.

The minimal music parts are for Odaiko/chu, 2 shime, and fue. The parts may be made more complex by adding others for Odaiko and chu or shime and atarigane and/or matsu mushi bells.

ShastaYama Odori was created for audience participation at the ShastaYama Taiko Festival. Toru Watanabe and Michelle Fujii created most of the dance movements which celebrates the Mount Shasta area and nature. Russel Baba added more dance movements reflecting our modern lifestyles of cell phones, pumping gas, and driving. Traditional dance and songs reflect people's lives of fishing, farming, or hoeing or digging. Russel added the modern acts of today.

The piece ends when dancing is done. The chu Odaiko pattern goes one more round and ends the piece.

This workshop can add more participants. There is a minimum required, but no maximum as it is simple and easy to learn.

If one plays ShastaYama Odori, please give Russel credit for the music and give credit to Toru Watanabe, Michelle Fujii, and Russel for the dance choreography.

Prerequisite/What to bring: There are no requirements for participants. Anyone from beginner to advanced will gain from learning ShastaYama Odori. AND it's fun!

Description
- When I first visited Hachijo Island in 2012 and played Hachijo Daiko with the locals, I received a comment: "That's not Hachijo Taiko". While Hachijo is known to be an improvisational style played by two players, I was shocked to hear that simply improvising on the Hachijo setup wasn't good enough.
- It is said that islanders are able to recognize the soloist by listening to their rhythms from afar. The focus of this workshop is for each participant to further develop their own Hachijo style through exploration in sound and rhythms. Explore beyond the given roles of the Uwauchi player being the soloist and the Shitauchi player being the base-keeper in the Hachijo setup.
- WS focus/concepts: becoming an "active listener" as the Shitauchi player; incorporating repetition and creating rhythms that feel/sound good to you as the Uwauchi player

Prerequisite Knowledge
- Experience with Hachijo Daiko in the past (preferred, but not required)

Description
- A workshop that will focus on various important elements to Kumidaiko, such as listening, grooving, and developing a stronger sense of musical interdependence.
- Exercises will encourage students to channel their internal pulse while executing drill patterns as well as playing interlocking rhythms in an ensemble setting.
- WS focus/concepts: external pulse exercises (clapping and stepping); breaking down swing beat and triplet subdivisions while counting; playing excerpts of interlocking rhythms from Masa's original composition "Tap L'eau"

Prerequisite Knowledge
- Knows how to play swing beat
- Knows the 1eau (1-ee-and-uh) drill, or any familiarity with musical subdivisions / timing drills; (highly recommended, but not required)

The purpose of this workshop is to help participants experience a short taiko-based exercise routine, and have them create exercises they can bring back home. An initial offering of this workshop was shared as the first kaDON live Zoom workshop during the stay-at-home order. This class offers a way to train and learn movement patterns that are commonly used by kumidaiko players in America by breaking it down in a biomechanical format that you can do when you don't have access to a taiko! It’s important to understand that every group plays differently and every body is different, each group’s exercise may look slightly different to reinforce participants’ respective established form.

This is not taiko, but it is a way to give your body the physical movement during times when you’re unable to touch a taiko drum with your group. Exercises are thought out based on my background in athletic training, an allied health profession that works with musculoskeletal injuries. However, this course is not meant to provide healthcare, but with the goal of keeping you healthy.

Prerequisite/What to bring: Towel, shoes to move around in, water, request to inform me about anything that may make this routine difficult. Must be okay with being on the floor or will need to perform modified (not as difficult) exercise.

ShastaYama Odori is a composition by Russel Baba which uses two simple traditional patterns interlocking to create a new or different overall sound to dance to.

Basic needs are one Odaiko, 2 shime, one chu, atarigane, & fue. Each has a part.

The minimal music parts are for Odaiko/chu, 2 shime, and fue. The parts may be made more complex by adding others for Odaiko and chu or shime and atarigane and/or matsu mushi bells.

ShastaYama Odori was created for audience participation at the ShastaYama Taiko Festival. Toru Watanabe and Michelle Fujii created most of the dance movements which celebrates the Mount Shasta area and nature. Russel Baba added more dance movements reflecting our modern lifestyles of cell phones, pumping gas, and driving. Traditional dance and songs reflect people's lives of fishing, farming, or hoeing or digging. Russel added the modern acts of today.

The piece ends when dancing is done. The chu Odaiko pattern goes one more round and ends the piece.

This workshop can add more participants. There is a minimum required, but no maximum as it is simple and easy to learn.

If one plays ShastaYama Odori, please give Russel credit for the music and give credit to Toru Watanabe, Michelle Fujii, and Russel for the dance choreography.

Prerequisite/What to bring: There are no requirements for participants. Anyone from beginner to advanced will gain from learning ShastaYama Odori. AND it's fun!

Description
- When I first visited Hachijo Island in 2012 and played Hachijo Daiko with the locals, I received a comment: "That's not Hachijo Taiko". While Hachijo is known to be an improvisational style played by two players, I was shocked to hear that simply improvising on the Hachijo setup wasn't good enough.
- It is said that islanders are able to recognize the soloist by listening to their rhythms from afar. The focus of this workshop is for each participant to further develop their own Hachijo style through exploration in sound and rhythms. Explore beyond the given roles of the Uwauchi player being the soloist and the Shitauchi player being the base-keeper in the Hachijo setup.
- WS focus/concepts: becoming an "active listener" as the Shitauchi player; incorporating repetition and creating rhythms that feel/sound good to you as the Uwauchi player

Prerequisite Knowledge
- Experience with Hachijo Daiko in the past (preferred, but not required)

Description
- A workshop that will focus on various important elements to Kumidaiko, such as listening, grooving, and developing a stronger sense of musical interdependence.
- Exercises will encourage students to channel their internal pulse while executing drill patterns as well as playing interlocking rhythms in an ensemble setting.
- WS focus/concepts: external pulse exercises (clapping and stepping); breaking down swing beat and triplet subdivisions while counting; playing excerpts of interlocking rhythms from Masa's original composition "Tap L'eau"

Prerequisite Knowledge
- Knows how to play swing beat
- Knows the 1eau (1-ee-and-uh) drill, or any familiarity with musical subdivisions / timing drills; (highly recommended, but not required)

We taiko players need to be more sensitive!  While taiko is designed for raw power and volume, we play too loud for too long.  While kuchishoga is an amazing tool for learning, we've let it reduce our subtlety and tonal range.

Fortunately, we all possess a well of sensitivity that can guide our playing: our sense of touch. We can train our musicality with the emotional wisdom in our bodies. This workshop maps our sense of touch onto the drum to answer questions like, "How loud?... for how long?... and what next?"

Prerequisites: Open to players of all levels. Musical curiosity required. Workshop will involve self-touch and optional touch of others' hands, arms, shoulders, and heads.