RHYTHMIC RELATIONS 2017

Hello TAIKOPROJECT blog readers! Thank you for joining us here on our website and blog, please feel free to browse through our various media pages and past blogs to see what our group has been up to this year. Our blog is a great way to catch up on our bigger productions throughout the year so don't miss out and check in again soon! :)

On June 18, 2017 we held our annual Rhythmic Relations show at the Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro, Ca.  This year was a special show because for the first half of the concert we had the chance to share the stage with our friends from Bombu Taiko and the Kitsune Performing Ensemble and the second half we collaborated with the talented members of Cirque Bezerk.  Most of you probably already know of taiko but you're probably wondering, "What the heck is Cirque Bezerk?". Cirque Bezerk, lead by Suzanne Down and choreography by SuzeQ, is a troupe that excels in the circus style of performances from acrobats to cyr wheels, they do it all! At first it is hard to imagine the two different styles of performance and how they would work together, but with the hard work from both organizations it created a new visual to our pieces that was both intriguing and stunning. Some of my favorite parts was when Monique, a rhythmic gymnast, performed during Seiza showing feats of flexibility and strength and the incredible tumbling performed by Jordan and Ed during Expanding added a whole new level of flare and excitement. Tosca, the cyr wheel artist, completely re imagined our song Kodama and left the audience and members of our taiko family jaw dropped in the wings of the stage. It was both beautiful and elegant, and she made it look so effortless as she spun on the cyr wheel. It really was fun show and everyone worked so hard to make this production come together, so thank you Bombu Taiko, Kitsune Taiko, and Cirque Berzerk for making this all happen. Thank you to the staff at the Warner Grand for all your help behind the scenes. A huge thank you to Scott LeGrand for the wonderful lighting of the stage and Glenn Suravech for the pristine audio work to make us sound awesome.  With another Rhythmic Relations show in the books it makes me curious and excited to see who we will work with next in our future shows.