"Portland Taiko is a premiere North American taiko ensemble, educating students about Japanese culture through the ancient tradition of taiko drumming. Taiko is a dynamic and evolving performing art that combines rhythm, movement, energy, and culture into a single art form. Portland Taiko inspires audiences to explore Asian American heritage through drumming, story telling and audience participation."
The Portland Taiko site says,
"Taiko, the Japanese word for drum and the name of the art form, has its roots in ancient Japanese tradition and was used in religious ceremonies, community festivals and theater. The boundaries of villages were defined by the distance from which the community taiko could be heard."They have some cool big drums and look like they are having a lot of fun, and getting a good workout. If you live in Portland, you and or your kids could take part in some of the classes the Portland Taiko offers. They are very reasonably priced, for example - the class for 4 to 7 years olds is 75 dollars. It meets once a week for an hour for seven weeks.
Here's a YouTube clip from a rehersal of the Portland Taiko Ensemble -
