co-presented by MCA Stage & Asian Improv aRts Midwest
Taiko Legacy 12 - Sat & Sun, Dec 19 & 20, 3 pm
TL12 is a matinee and perennial favorite featuring Tsukasa Taiko. Tsukasa is celebrated for convening three generations of drummers in its ensemble and representing today's vibrant pan-Asian heritage. The core Japanese aesthetic in taiko and classical instruments and kimono dance is presented in this program, which features the dance art of grandmaster Shunojo Fujima and Yoshinojo Fujima, along with esteemed musical artists from Tokyo, grandmasters Chizuru Kineya, Kizan Kawamura, Takane Umeya, and SHINTA from Sapporo, Japan, San Francisco's Melody Takata and Gen Ensemble.
Reduction 3 - Sat, Dec 19, 7:30 pm
Reduction forefronts taiko's central role in the3 musical experimentati8on of 1970s Tokyo. Directed by creative artist Tatsu Aoki, this hybrid program owes uch to Aoki's roots in a well-known artisan family and his role in Tokyo's new wave of performance art. Reduction explores the quieter contours of space, silence, time, weight, and visual imagery to connect the viewer to the less obvious elements of beauty inherent in today's Japanese art forms.
The unearthly Ayako Kato, originally of Yokohama and currently one of Chicago's leading contemporary dance improvisers, performs alongside formidable creative musicians including Nicole Mitchell on flutes, Ari Brown and Douglas R. Ewart on reeds. The superb percussive talents of Eigen Aoki, Hamid Drake, and Michael Zerang and SHINTA from Japan demonstrates taiko's complexity, in an extended improvisation set that also features the artists performing on snare drums and percussion. Additional guest artists in the program are Melody Takata and Francis Wong (San Francisco), Jonathan Chen (New York), and others to be announced.
At the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago's Edlis Neeson Theater, 220 East Chicago Ave.
Buy tickets online: www.mcachicago.org
or call the MCA Box Office: 312.397.4010
MCA members: $16
Nonmembers: $20
Students: $10
Taiko Legacy Promotional Video
