Discover why percussion is the primal source of all movement and rhythm as Japan’s Kodo returns with its most ambitious production yet! Kodo One Earth Tour: Mystery, conceived by brilliant Artistic Director Tamasaburo Bando, creates onstage the mood of mystery and wonder common to sacred places everywhere. Known for power and precision, for discipline, endurance, and sheer spectacle, these percussionist kamikazes leave audiences breathless. NAC Dance and NAC Music co-presents Kodo One Earth Tour: Mystery in Southam Hall of the National Arts Centre on Monday March 9 at 8 p.m.

From out of the darkness comes a low rumble, a crack of thunder. Floating orbs of light reveal a serpent coiling and uncoiling, its scales glinting in sinuous beauty. Mystery, the second work directed by Tamasaburo Bando, is a breathtaking combination of athletic and electrifying drumming, exquisite musicianship, stunning visuals, and pure theatre. Amid the earth’s reverberations, demons and lions roam with abandon. They surface from the gloomy dark – mysterious, eerie. Mystery fuses Kodo's dynamic taiko percussion with the profound beauty and charm of ancient Japanese rituals, the worship of gods and reverence for nature. This performance takes you on a voyage to the extraordinary, to a mysterious realm that lies in the beyond – to an ultimate sense of purification.

“I have introduced some original costumes,” Tamasaburo Bando says. “I wanted to create a performance that pays homage to the profound expressions of Kodo to date, (but which also) adds splendour and levity and harmonizes all elements into a single flow that undulates throughout the program. I created One Earth Tour: Mystery with the idea that theatre-goers would experience the mood of mystery that they meet at a temple or a shrine, or when you go into the forest – places that are removed from daily life. A feeling that emerges from deep darkness.”

ABOUT KODO DRUMMERS
Kodo, with its pulsing rhythms, takes its name from a Japanese word that can mean either “heartbeat” or “children of the drum.” Hailing from Japan’s remote Sado Island, Kodo is the first and most influential taiko (percussion) ensemble in the world, comprising a 26-strong troupe of musicians and dancers who transform centuries-old traditional Japanese ritual and performing arts into vigorous, joyful stage shows. Since its foundation in 1981, Kodo has given nearly 4,000 performances. Now under the artistic direction of Japanese ‘National Living Treasure’ (a title bestowed on those who are considered guardians of important cultural assets and traditional Japanese art forms) and revered Kabuki theatre icon Tamasaburo Bando, Kodo is even further refining its carefully considered stagecraft. When Kodo began touring the world, the performers discovered that the sound of taiko created an instant sense of community, of one-ness. The name ‘One Earth Tour’ was born, and it has since traveled the world with its message of shared humanity, environmental awareness, and peace.

Kodo’s performances are centred on the power and rhythms of the ancient O-daiko and Chu-daiko Taiko drums, while also incorporating traditional Japanese instruments such as the fue (flute) and shamisen (3-stringed instrument). Some of the drums can measure up to 1 metre in diameter and weigh up to 500 kilos, so rigorous training and extreme athletic ability is essential. In addition to arduous rehearsals and intense shows, Kodo’s performers run long distances to build endurance. They also partake in communal Japanese traditions, such as rice growing and tea ceremonies, to strengthen a sense of family.

 

ABOUT KODO ONE EARTH TOUR: MYSTERY

KODO ONE EARTH TOUR: MYSTERY (2013)
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Tamasaburo Bando

DURATION: 2 hours, including one intermission

TICKETS AND PERFORMANCES

Japan’s Kodo performs Kodo One Earth Tour: Mystery in Southam Hall of the National Arts Centre on Monday March 9 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $55, $70, $80, and $90 for adults and $29.50, $37, $42, and $47 for students (upon presentation of a valid student ID card).

Groups of 10 or more save 15% to 20% off regular ticket prices; to reserve your seats, call 613 947-7000,

ext. 634 or e-mail grp@nac-cna.ca.

Tickets are available for purchase:

• In person at the NAC Box Office

• At all Ticketmaster outlets

• By telephone from Ticketmaster, 1-888-991-2787 (ARTS)

• Online through the Ticketmaster link on the NAC’s website (http://www.nac-cna.ca)

• A service charge applies on all purchases made through Ticketmaster