Founded in 1993 by Masa Ogawa in Nara, Japan — the “land of Yamato” and the so-called birthplace of Japanese culture — the Yamoto Drummers have been bringing their traditional rhythms to the stage for the past 14 years. Under the painstaking direction of Ogawa, the male and female performers dance, run, yell and launch themselves into the air while beating traditional Japanese Taiko drums of all sizes, from the small and portable Shimi-daiko, to the monstrous odaiko, a drum made from a single enormous, hollowed-out tree trunk. The 13-member ensemble also incorporates other traditional instruments, like the Shamisen (a stringed banjo-like instrument), Koto (a stringed harp-like instrument), Japanese flutes and cymbals. The resulting program celebrates rhythm, dance, drama, instrumental music, song and cultural history, with the underlying idea being that the drumbeat, like the heartbeat, is the very pulse of life. The 2007 U.S. tour stops at Ruth Eckerd Hall this Saturday evening. Sat., Nov. 17, 8 p.m., 1111 N. McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater, $27 and $37, 727-791-7400, rutheckerdhall.com.
This article appears in Nov 14-20, 2007.
