Taiko Drums - Swarthmore Taiko Ensemble - Miyake~Yatai Bayashi - S'23 Dance Concert Sat. 4-29-23

Miyake~Yatai Bayashi
Swarthmore Taiko Ensemble
2023 Spring Dance Concert
Swarthmore College Lang Performing Arts Center, Pearson-Hall Theatre
4-29-23 Saturday performance
Arrangement:
Miyake -- Traditional, arranged by Joe Small -- inspired by Kodo’s arrangement and aspects of Miyakejima Geinou Doushikai; Soli features by STE members.
Yatai Bayashi -- initial arrangement by Eitetsu Hayashi and Ondekoza c.1972, with additional arranging by Joe Small.
Staging: Joe Small and members of Swarthmore Taiko Ensemble
Performers: Liya Chang, Pedro Cruz, Keira Dandy, Myles Farrall, Min Fruman, Abdul Jeter, Anna Jing, Emma Jin ‘23, Emily Lathers, Lucas Liu, Koji Flynn-Do ‘23, Kimiye Maeshiro ‘23 (BMC), Clara Mulligan, Kieran Mulligan (HC), Atalie Pierre-Louis (BMC), Quincy Ponvert ‘23, Kyra Roepke, Drake Roth, Paul Seth ‘23, Jack Spector, Neil Steinglass ‘23, Jaron Tinsley, Moss Wacker, Rain White, Jennie Williams, Serena Yang, Joe Small
Shinobue: Kieran Mulligan (HC)
Costume Design: Joe Small
Lighting Design: James Murphy
Program Notes:
Miyake is an arrangement of the drumming accompaniment, "Miyake-jima Kamitsuki Mikoshi Daiko", of the Gozu Tennou Sai -- a July festival held since 1820 on Miyake, a small volcanic island about 180 km south of Tokyo. This drumming follows the mikoshi (portable Shinto shrine) procession around the village of Kamitsuki. Most often preceded by the ceremonial pattern known as Kagura, as well as Kiyari -- a work chant/song, literally referring to "carrying a tree'', the drumming displays endurance and strength in low-to-the ground lunged stances.
The famous taiko ensemble Kodo first visited Miyake in 1982 to learn from local inn-keeper, Akio Tsumura. Shortly thereafter, Kodo debuted a staged arrangement featuring non-native components of multiple drums, solo features, and modifications to techniques. Due Kodo’s success, increased interest from taiko practitioners resulted in the Tsumura family establishing a school in Tokyo to share their art -- a case of both 'contemporary' and 'traditional' working in tandem.
Yatai Bayashi ("Music/Orchestra of the Carts") is a heavily modified arrangement of the music Chichibu Yatai Bayashi, featured in the 300-year-old Yo-Matsuri (Night Festival), held every December 2~3 in the town of Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture. Attendees pack Chichibu to witness six towering yatai (sacred carts), approximately 30 feet high and weighing between 10 to 20 tons, pulled by dozens through the narrow streets. From hidden alcoves in each yatai, drummers and shinobue flute players bring forth rhythms and melodies said to delight both gods and humans alike, spreading good fortune and health throughout the community.
In 1972, then-fledgling group Ondekoza ('The Demon Drummers') traveled to Chichibu to study the form. With members perplexed by the lilting shuffle and idiosyncratic playing differences between locals, member Eitetsu Hayashi created a modified arrangement out of field recordings. Dubbed Yatai Bayashi, the piece became synonymous with Ondekoza's intense physicality -- and the art of taiko itself. The lilt turned into a forward-driving pulse. Modified dynamics and tempo (considered non-native to festival music) transported taiko from 'folk' into the postmodern. The sitting position required to play the taiko, initially determined by limited space within the alcove, transformed into the infamous 'sit-up' position.
Since the 1980s, Yatai Bayashi has been symbolic of Kodo's holistic celebration of human interconnection, with a sitting position evocative of an embryo that knows only its mother's heartbeat, manifesting the meanings of Kodo's name -- 'Heartbeat Drummers'/'Children of the Drum'.
Special Thanks and Acknowledgements
Murph, Scott, Tom, Brady, Dom, LeVonne, Emmie, and LPAC staff, STE members past and present; Dance Program faculty, Kieran for the shinobue, Myles for the stands, the Tsumura family, LA and Australia Miyake Kai, Kodo, kenshuusei 26th cohort, Katsuji and Julia Asano, Aya Yoshino, Taikoz family, Makoto and Norika Tashiro and the Koyu group, Mac Evans & Casual Fifth, Isaku Kageyama, Marco Lienhard, and last but not least Eitetsu-Shisho and Fu-Un no Kai.

[@st006]

Bravo!

[@JoeSmalltaiko]

Thank you -- the students worked so hard!