User:Rrmorgantaiko/sandbox

Sawagi Taiko


 * Sawagi Taiko, with Sawagi roughly translating to “Let’s raise hell” from Japanese, is the first all-female kumidaiko group founded in Vancouver, Canada . It was founded by a group of women from Katari Taiko, the first Canadian kumidaiko group, and its members are exclusively females of Japanese or Chinese descent . Sawagi plays to empower Asian women, more specifically seeking to reject the "stereotypes of Asians as quiet and hardworking but basically mechanical and uncreative." The taiko group finds inspiration in the Chicago blues, occasionally including electric bass and vocal improvisation in their songs, as well as Japanese folk songs, and rap.

Background


 * Sawagi was founded in Vancouver, Canada in 1990. All of its founding members were originally members of Katari Taiko, the first taiko group in Canada (founded in 1979).


 * In 1989, the women of Katari Taiko were approached after performing at the Vancouver Folk Festival and invited to perform in the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. The festival was for women and their young sons only, so accepting the offer required leaving part of the group behind while the women performed in Michigan. While some women did not approve of excluding the men in the group, a number of the women decided that it sounded exciting and travelled to Michigan for the performance. Upon returning, one of the male members of Katari voiced his anger at the women for agreeing to perform when certain members of the group were explicitly forbidden from participating. After this, the members of Katari decided that they would never accept an invitation to perform that excluded any of its members.


 * However, the women who had performed at the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival enjoyed their trip and had received very positive feedback after their performance. They decided to form a new, all-women’s group with the sole purpose of performing at the festival the next year and avoid future conflicts. This new group became Sawagi, a Japanese name suggested by one of the founding members meaning, “let’s make a commotion,” or, more affectionately, “let’s raise hell.”


 * In order to stay on good terms with Katari, Sawagi needed to create an entirely new repertoire. This forced the women to take initiative and write their own songs, a task that had most often been taken care of by the men in Katari. The songs that the women wrote took advantage of the variety of skills at the groups disposal, including electric guitars, singing, and Japanese flute in their songs, for example, when they had members who had these talents.

Today
 * Initially Sawagi members only expected to play women’s festivals, but as the number of taiko groups in Vancouver increased, Sawagi decided to expand their purpose and accept invitations to perform at other events. As the group aged, some of the members desired to recruit new members who could continue the group and its purpose. To do this, Sawagi periodically holds workshops, which are open to everyone regardless of gender or race, in order to find women who are committed to learning, willing to be part of the Japanese Canadian community, and able to keep a rhythm. Since most of Sawagi’s members have full-time jobs outside of Sawagi and the group does not have a manager, the group is unable to train novice taiko drummers. New members are often only taken one at a time and initially spend large amounts of time watching the group perform in order to increase their knowledge of taiko and learn Sawagi’s style.

Founding Members:


 * Joyce Chong


 * Eileen Kage


 * Leslie Komori


 * Lisa Mah


 * Sachigo Yamaguchi


 * Linda Uyehara Hoffman

Current Charter Members:


 * Catlin Renay


 * Lisa Mah


 * Linda Uyehara Hoffman


 * Sachiko Yamaguchi


 * Mariko Heidelk


 * Jeanie Ow


 * Helen Kang

Sawagi

External Website:

Sawagi Taiko Official Website: http://www.sawagitaiko.com/