Pre-eminent Canadian taiko group Nagata Shachu and Chieko Kojima – founding member and principal dancer of Japan’s Kodo drummers – come together for a rare collaboration in an evening of dance, drums and song.

The JCCC and Nagata Shachu are proud to present Japanese dance and taiko artist Chieko Kojima. A founding member of the world renowned Kodo drummers of Sado Island, Japan, Kojima also has an active solo career that is best characterized by her ongoing project, “Yukiai,” where she seeks out new encounters and collaborations with artists and taiko groups within Japan and throughout the world.

ARTIST QUOTE: Artistic director Kiyoshi Nagata states, “Nagata Shachu is extremely excited and honoured to be working with dance and taiko artist Chieko Kojima, a founding member of the world renowned Kodo drummers.

This is Nagata Shachu’s first time collaborating exclusively with a dancer in one of our concerts, and we look forward to creating something special and unique. I had the privilege of studying with Kojima 25 years ago as an apprentice with Kodo, and this will be the first time I have seen her since then.”

TICKETS: Advance tickets are $20.00 (seniors), $25.00 (JCCC members) to $30.00 (general);

Online, https://www.ticketweb.ca/event/yukiai-japanese-canadian-cultural-centre-tickets/7877335?pl=jcccevents.

Phone, 416-441-2345.

VIDEO: Chieko Kojima; https://youtu.be/ChyjjjAG80k.

INFO: http://nagatashachu.com, and http://www.jccc.on.ca/en.

Chieko Kojima is known for her original dancing style during Kodo’s taiko-based performances, which is best exemplified by her vivid portrayal of the goddess Ameno-uzume in the first season of “Amaterasu” in 2006. In 2012, she became a Kodo Distinguished Member and started as director of the annual concert series ‘Kodo Special Performances on Sado Island’ for four years. Recent productions, based on the “Tales of Dojoji,” became the inspiration for her first photo book, ‘Kasane no Kiyohime Monogatari: The Myriad Layers of Kiyohime’ (released in 2015).

Nagata Shachu members are; Kiyoshi Nagata (artistic director, taiko, shinobue/flute), Aki Takahashi (shamisen, vocals), Tony Nguyen (taiko), Kayo Homma-Komori (taiko), Jason Huang (taiko) and Naoya Kobayashi (taiko).

Nagata Shachu has toured extensively and played rare collaborations with artists including Japan’s Shogo Yoshii, pianist Ron Davis’ jazz/string ensemble Symphronica, acclaimed percussion quartet TorQ and Juno nominated Toronto Tabla Ensemble. Nagata Shachu has released seven original CDs and four DVDs (latest is Toronto Taiko Tales, April 2017).

Kiyoshi Nagata is Canada’s pre-eminent taiko soloist, whose career spans over three decades. His principal studies were with ‘Kodo’ in Japan and Daihachi Oguchi (artistic director of Toronto’s Suwa Daiko). In 1998, he founded Nagata Shachu, and currently teaches at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music and at the Royal Conservatory of Music.

ABOUT:

Since forming in 1998 and while rooted in the folk drumming traditions of Japan, Nagata Shachu's principal aim is to rejuvenate this ancient art form by producing innovative and exciting music (through concerts and workshops) that speaks to today’s audience and creates a new voice for the Taiko. Taking its name from founder Kiyoshi Nagata and ‘shachu’ (old term for a performing troupe), Nagata Shachu has toured throughout Canada, the USA and Europe.

Founded in 1963, the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC) is one of the largest and most vibrant Japanese cultural centres in the world. Their mandate is to promote Japanese culture and Japanese Canadian heritage. The JCCC offers a broad spectrum of Japanese traditional and contemporary cultural programs, martial arts, festivals, performances, film screenings, art exhibitions and more for its thousands of members and hundreds of thousands of annual visitors.