Katsugi okedo is a hugely popular style of taiko. However, keeping your body balanced and maintaining a good left-handed stroke are difficulties encountered while playing the katsugi. Ryutaro will carefully teach the basics to overcome such difficulties along with advanced techniques for further study.
*BYOS - Bring Your Own Strap (Straps available for purchase at Asano Taiko US)
$60 / workshop
$45 for LATI / college students
RSVP taiko@asano.us / 310-974-4490 (Please pay at the door)
Date:
Monday, November 4, 2013 - 20:00 to 22:00
Facilitator:
Ryutaro Kaneko
Biography:
From 1987, Ryutaro Kaneko spent twenty years performing as a core member of taiko performing arts ensemble Kodo. In addition to performing, he was a key figure in both composing and arranging pieces for the Kodo stage and recordings, and held the positions of music director (Tamasaburo Bando’s “Amaterasu,” etc) and artistic director in the group. He left the ensemble in 2007 to become a solo artist. He has performed in forty one countries on six continents.
His solo performances convey the various emotions within the taiko. His unit seeks unknown forms of musical expression.His onstage jam sessions with music, dance and art around the world go beyond any genre.With these three styles, he expresses his high musicality and flexible sensibilities.
His original playing method of the chappa (small Japanese cymbals) that he designed himself was an innovation in taiko ensemble performance. In 2009, he released the first instructional DVD for chappa in Japan.
His workshops are centered on his unique Yurumi-daho (relaxation drumming form) and he teaches performance technique, ensemble playing, and even workshops that do not use taiko. The content is based on a mind & body quest that lets participants make numerous realizations through experience. His workshops are highly praised both in Japan and internationally and his students range from taiko novices to professionals and teachers in an array of art genres including acting and dance.