25 Sep 2008
Location: Coleraine
Event Type: Concert
Many might hesitate to call two hours of drumming 'music', and with the Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers, they'd be right – it's SO much more! Fusing the grace of dance and martial arts with the pounding rhythms of the Taiko drums, a unique kind of sensory theatre is created. Mugenkyo, Europe’s most established performing company open their first Northern Ireland tour at the Riverside Theatre Coleraine on Thursday 25 September.
The name Mugenkyo means limitless reverberation and reflects the belief that Taiko has no limitations, no musical or geographical boundaries. The athleticism and technical skill is evident – contrasting sheer percussive power with elegant movement into one glorious harmony. Everyone has distant memories of a heart beat in the womb and most will have heard the complexity of modern fusion music. Taiko Drumming is total sensory immersion into a cross-cultural experiment that reaches out and embraces all.
Visually the polished wooden drums are themselves stunning dramatic objects, capable of a breathtaking expressive range. Explosive rather than subtle, they are surprisingly versatile in their emotional reach. In Tojimbo, grab your sea-sickness pills and your life jacket as furious staccato whips up the storm-tossed waves of the Sea of Japan. Or relax and enjoy the playful humour as two dancers with bamboo rods conjure into life a stylised fishing scenario, London Bridge and a firework display. The paradox lies in the silence that grips the audience. An invigorating, life-enriching experience, you’ll be poorer if you miss it and it's a lot of fun!
For more information contact:
Riverside Theatre
University of Ulster
Cromore Road
Coleraine
Box Office: 028 7032 3232
E-mail: riversidetheatre@ulster.ac.uk
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