UCLA Kyodo Taiko proudly presents the

Collegiate Taiko Concert 2000

Featuring:





Dear Friends,

UCLA Kyodo Taiko proudly presents the Collegiate Taiko Concert 2000, featuring performances by St. Louis Osuwa Taiko, Stanford Taiko, UC Irvine Jodaiko, and UCLA Kyodo Taiko. The concert will be presented for one night only--Saturday, May 27th, at the Japan America Theatre in downtown L.A.'s Little Tokyo. The concert begins at 8:00pm, with a post-concert reception to follow. Seating is general admission. Tickets are $15 general, $10 students, and are available at the JAT box office: (213) 680-3700.

For the past 10 years, the phenomenon of collegiate taiko has continued to develop, and more and more young people in universities are drawn to the art of taiko drumming. With Kyodo Taiko being the first collegiate taiko group, a new generation of taiko drumming began to develop. Through taiko, younger people are developing their own innovative expressions of Japanese-American culture, as well as learning about the history of taiko's Japanese heritage. Collegiate taiko groups strive to bring these two worlds together with pride and respect for both cultures.

The Collegiate Taiko Concert, part of the two-day Collegiate Taiko Invitational (this year hosted by UCLA Kyodo Taiko), focuses on the performance aspect of taiko. The concert allows the various collegiate groups to perform for and with each other on stage, sharing the excitement of collegiate taiko with a community audience. Since collegiate groups have no constant sensei, or teacher, tradition is passed on each year from student to student. Combined with ever-changing personnel each year, this makes for difficult yet innovative artistic development. As such, each Collegiate Taiko Concert is unique in its artistry, but always present is the participants' passion and love for the drum.

The concert presents to the community the college students' role in developing and promoting Japanese-American community and art through taiko. Although culturally diverse, each group learns and contributes to an art form that will continually be a part of the Japanese-American culture.

We hope to pack the house! Please come to support Kyodo Taiko and collegiate taiko as a whole, and witness a very exciting show! For more information, e-mail kyodo@ucla.edu.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The Japan America Theatre is located at 244 S. San Pedro St., in downtown Los Angeles. View a map, or find out more about the JAT and the JACCC.