REVIEW: TAIKOPROJECT

TAIKOPROJECT is an award-winning percussion ensemble that blends traditional Japanese drumming with elements of dance and hip-hop.  The nine performers use their entire bodies to extract music from a host of drums ranging in size from tiny toy cymbals to a massive barrel drum as big as a Jacuzzi!  I particularly enjoyed the baseball-bat-like drumstick used on the giant barrel drum (called an 0-daiko). Part of the unique art of taiko is the visual language of movements that incorporate elements of martial arts with choreography to the point where the movements are fully intertwined with the music.  You can see a sample of what I’m talking about on YouTube, but it’s only a pale shadow of the full experience, which you resonates through your whole body.  It’s also impossible not to be wowed by the amazing physiques of the performers, particularly David Wells, who opens the second act with a jaw-dropping solo.  The high-energy show will sweep you up into its thundering rhythmicality and leave you craving more.

Unfortunately TAIKOPROJECT was only at The Ordway for one evening.  To view upcoming events at The Ordway, click here.  I will be sure to alert you the next time it returns, because it was a truly awesome experience.