12.26.05
Happy Holidays from the TAIKOPROJECT! We hope you're spending some quality time with your friends and family for the holidays and eating lots of great food--check out our recently uploaded photos from the Dubai trip here! January is already off to a busy start for us, check out our timeline page soon for an updated listing of upcoming performances.
12.17.05 12.10.05 11.30.05 11.28.05 11.28.05 11.24.05 11.16.05 11.08.05 10.28.05 10.26.05 10.22.05 10.21.05 10.16.05 10.09.05 10.08.05 10.07.05 10.05.05 10.02.05 09.26.05 09.20.05 09.18.05 09.12.05 09.10.05
The first TAIKOPROJECT news update from Amsterdam....since we're here for five hours in between our Dubai flight here and our flight from here back to L.A. Many wacky photos from our Dubai tour coming soon, and if all goes well, the very first "TP Boyz" music video, conceived, shot, and edited by our very own Yuta Kato featuring the aerialists of Anti-Gravity Orlando and Las Vegas magician Arian Black.
Our first TAIKOPROJECT news update from Dubai! Things here are going well for the TAIKOPROJECT performances for Nissan/Infiniti here and the guys have already had a chance to go driving around in the sand dunes, smoke a little hookah pipe (harmless, really), and even ride a camel or two... In the meantime, check out our Winter 2005 Newsletter and some of the press clippings from the tour to Puerto Rico!
Two new videos posted online! Check out Quetzal and Son de Madera, and TAIKOPROJECT at L.A. Dodgers Stadium! In the meantime, we're almost done sorting out all the air freight logistics for the upcoming Puerto Rico and Dubai trips...
Just saw this online. Check out the Seattle news article about our own Kelsey "Sam" Furuta ! You go Kelse, rock on with yo' bad self...
TAIKOPROJECT prepares for the last two trips of the year--to Puerto Rico (sent the drums out via air freight today), and then off to Dubai. Check out new photo galleries-- Yuta's Japan Tour Gallery, and galleries from the Mitsubishi Raider Tour - Ohio and the Mitsubishi Raider Tour - Virginia. Also, this is your last weekend to check out EQUUS at East West Players! And last but not least, stay tuned, in a few days, we'll have new videos posted online from our performance at Dodger Stadium and from last year's collaboration with Quetzal!
Happy Thanksgiving! And what better way to celebrate the holidays than to check out the last performances of the six-week run of EQUUS, which closes on December 4! Check out a couple more reviews of the show here at Backstage West and Asia Pacific Arts Online Magazine.
Listen to the radio feature on "EQUUS" here on Southern California Public Radio (KPCC 89.3 FM)! You can hear two short clips of Yuta and Byron playing in the background...also, Bryan is back from a successful residency with Vancouver's Chibi Taiko. Check out a few photos from the residency here!
Another couple of reviews of EQUUS are out! Check these two reviews out--first the New University Paper's review and the San Bernardino Sun's review. This weekend, Yuta and Byron perform in EQUUS as Bryan heads to Canada to work with Vancouver's Chibi Taiko, and Julia, Jen, Yuri, and Aya head to Virginia to play in the Mitsubishi Raider Tour! Also, click the above links to see our full press release about the Tokyo International Taiko Contest.
EQUUS's first major review is out! Check it out on the Los Angeles Times website. We are called "redoubtable." We needed to look it up, and it means (1) "Arousing fear or awe; formidable" and (2) "Worthy of respect or honor." Now that we know what that means...all right!
Opening Night for EQUUS is tonight! George Takei + TAIKOPROJECT + great set design, lighting design, actors, and direction = 2 1/2 hours of theatrical fun! Click here for ticket information. Also, check out Kijima Taiko's TAIKOPROJECT page--they are a great Japanese youth taiko group that won First Place last year in the Youth Group category, and they know Yuta and Julia through SFTD Rising Stars exchange.
Our Fall Taiko Classes are starting soon but there are still space left! Click here to download the schedule and registration information. This is the last new class session for the year, so don't miss it!
The first two photo galleries are up! You can see the Japan tour through Byron's eyes or from Yuri's. In other news, EQUUS previews started yesterday and Opening Night is next Wednesday! If you're in town, come check it out...if you're in Normal, Illinois, you can catch up with Yuri, Courtney, JoAnn, and Jen at the next Mitsubishi Raider tour stop.
The results are in. We rocked the 4th Tokyo International Taiko Contest, and came out with a victory....the first American taiko group to take home First Place! Thank you so much to everyone who supported us in our efforts to participate in the contest and to everyone who made the contest possible. Now we have one free day in Tokyo before we head back to L.A. to work on EQUUS at East West Players....
A huge THANK YOU goes out to everyone who came to "IKUZO!", our benefit concert, to everyone (especially Lisa and May) who helped put it all together, to our Bombu Taiko, Kitsune Taiko, and Yukai Daiko family for getting everything set up and making a ton of food, to everyone who supported us, and couldn't make it to the concert, and Senshin Temple for hosting our performance. With your generosity and the support of American Airlines, we exceeded our fundraising goals!! We feel the love...thank you all!! We leave on Wednesday and our performance is on Sunday, the 16th. Send positive vibes across the Pacific...
The Mitsubishi Raider Tailgate Tour featuring the TAIKOPROJECT makes its first stop at the UCLA/Cal football game at the Rose Bowl. Their next stop, Austin, Texas, for the Colorado/Texas football game. Click here for photos from the first tour stop!
Check this out--this is great--our friend and "retired" Bombu Taiko member Jenni's nephew in action....not bad, not bad...
Getting ready to head to Japan...rehearsals are going well, and getting all of our logistics together for the tour. Also, getting ready for East West Players' "EQUUS." Download the postcard
here! Lots of taiko this weekend--check out Shoji Kameda and Kaoru Watanabe at JANM tonight, San Jose Taiko at the Cerritos Center and if you still want more, come on by our benefit concert, "IKUZO!" at Senshin Temple!
Stay tuned for an updated tour schedule--as we prepare for one of our busiest months ever! Whew...
The TAIKOPROJECT is pleased to announce that our tour to Japan has received the support of American Airlines! Tickets are still available for our upcoming IKUZO: A Benefit Concert to Send TAIKOPROJECT to Japan on Saturday, October 8 at Senshin Buddhist Temple! Rehearsals are going strong as we prepare to participate in the 5th Annual Tokyo International Taiko Contest in our first performance in Japan, our upcoming performance in East West Players' "EQUUS," and the promotional tour for Mitsubishi's new Raider truck.
Our Fall Taiko Class schedule has been finalized! Click here to download the schedule and registration information. If you can't make it this Fall, we'll be doing another session of Adult and Youth classes in February, 2006!
The TAIKOPROJECT is getting ready for the Tokyo International Taiko Contest and we need your help! Ticket information is now available for IKUZO: A Benefit Concert to Send TAIKOPROJECT to Japan on Saturday, October 8 at Senshin Buddhist Temple! Click here to download the ticket order form! Hope to see you at the show!
The latest video from our summer performances is now online! Click here to check out our performances from the Hollywood Bowl's SummerSounds! In the meantime, preparations begin for our first home benefit concert to help us self-produce our first tour to Japan to perform at the 5th Annual Tokyo International Taiko Contest! Stay tuned for more details!
Bryan and Kris from On Ensemble report that networking and tour planning at the Western Arts Alliance Conference are going well! Albuquerque weather has been warm but pleasant, and after today, 12 more hours driving back to L.A. and back to regular life. In the meantime, Yuta, Julia, and Byron prepare for a performance with the cabaret group Creation Temptation in Beverly Hills. Stay tuned for taiko class information to be posted soon!
Check it out, yo.
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