Date: May 19, 2024
Admission: FREE!
Time: Noon - 6pm
Cherry Blossom Festival Fort Wayne
A program of the Japanese American Association of Indiana (JAAI)
2024 Performing Artists
Toki
Toki started playing the koto at the age of three. Her mother who was a koto master, taught her how to play the instrument. She also began studying under her uncle, who was the head of the koto school at the time. Over the years, she has performed at many concerts. She is a certified master and teacher of the koto.Additionally, Toki started playing the piano at the age of three and majored in the piano while in high school. She will be accompanied by her son, Licht, on the flute.
Chicago Okinawa Kenjikai
We are a cultural organization that has been serving the Okinawan community for over 50 years. The Sanshin is a traditional 3-stringed instrument made from snake skin and wood. Shisa, are traditional wards, believed to protect from evil spirits. At the festival we would like to show Okinawan drumming dance, Classic dance, and a traditional lion dance called Shishi-Mai. We hope you enjoy the show!
Fort Wayne Taiko was established in 1997, a program of the Fort Wayne Dance Collective, and was the first performing taiko group in Indiana and is still one of the few in the Midwest. Taiko is a Japanese musical tradition that means “big drum”. Taiko’s characteristic beat is achieved through choreographed arm movements as drummers “dance” their sticks from drum to drum.
Tea Ceremony, the ritualized preparation and presentation of matcha, a powdered green tea, will be demonstrated in Ura Senke Style.
Classical Guitarist Dr. Daniel Quinn has been an active performer for over forty years. He has performed as a soloist in numerous concerts and recitals around the United States, Canada, and Japan. Dan completed his B.M., M.M., and D.M. in classical guitar performance at the Indiana University school of music in Bloomington Indiana under Ernesto Bitetti. Daniel has also been an instructor of guitar for thirty-five years at colleges such as Indiana University - Bloomington, Huntington College, University of St. Francis, University of Indianapolis, and the Tokyo College of Music. He currently teaches at St. Mary’s and Holy Cross colleges in Notre Dame Indiana, and at Indiana University South Bend, as well as at Sweetwater in Fort Wayne. Dan is a native of Fort Wayne, raised in the Saint Johns and Bishop Luers community on the south side. He has been married for 25 years and has three adult children.
Kendama is a popular Japanese skill toy. Mike Tsugawa, a 3rd Dan in the Japanese Kendama Association, will demonstrate tricks and techniques. Mike has taught Japanese at Michigan City High School since 2002, and was recognized as Teacher of the year by the Indiana Foreign Language Teacher Association in 2016.
Spirit Bomb is a dynamic live musical act featuring popular Japanese anime songs with authentic Japanese vocals. The concept for the band sprang from guitarist and music producer Kevin Samuel's Youtube channel, which combines his passion for music with his love for anime. When Kevin asked Elaina Robbins, a Japanese American classical crossover singer, to collaborate on a video for the channel, Spirit Bomb was born. Spirit Bomb's fun, energetic concert performance features powerful multilingual vocals, electric guitar, synth keyboards, saxophone, drums, and bass along with visuals and engaging karaoke-style lyrics. Check us out at spiritbombmusic.com.
Fort Wayne Suzuki Strings offers instruction in violin, viola, and cello to students age 3 and older. There are many parallels between learning a language and learning to play a musical instrument. The Suzuki Method is modeled on the process a child uses to learn to speak, conceived by Japanese violinist and teacher Shinichi Suzuki (1898-1998).
Fort Wayne Children’s Choir, Chamber Singers, provides a choral program exemplifying artistic and educational excellence for children from diverse backgrounds. Over 300 students participate in the choir, which contributes to the community’s cultural environment. FWCC is proud to represent 88 different schools in addition to 29 home school groups from 8 north east Indiana and northwest Ohio counties.
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Japan Karate-Do Genbukai of Indiana. It offers traditional Japanese karate and kobudo classes for children and adults. The Genbu-Kai is an international organization that encompasses 32 countries and thousands of members. Our program teaches karate-do. Karate is a form of self-defense that uses all parts of the body, while Do is character development; both aspects are viewed as equally important.
PFW Japanese Club will be performing a Japanese folk dance-a Soran Bushi dance. This is a fishermen’s dance and one of Bon festival dances from Hokkaido. It will be danced by 5 PFW students.
Gotokukan of Indianapolis (Kendo) follows the principles of budo and the way of the sword. They teach students of all ages the traditional Japanese art of kendo, passed down through Imafuji-sensei, Renshi 6-Dan, from his sensei in Japan. Kendo teaches one not just to swing the sword, but how to use the body, the mind, and the spirit in harmony to overcome your opponents and any challenges that lay before you.
Fort Wayne Dance Collective was founded in 1979, and it is their mission to inspire and empower people of all identities, abilities, and stages of life through the movement arts. FWDC, home of Fort Wayne Taiko, brought the Japanese Folk Dance Institute of NY to Fort Wayne for a residency and dance performance in the Fall of 2023. At the festival, you will be seeing a traditional folk dance called Nishimonai Bon Odori, taught to Dance Collective Company members by JFDINY. You will also see a dance for a piece called Ei Ja Nai Ka, written by Pj Hirabayashi from San Jose taiko. It's a Bon Odori dance using movements from everyday farming and sea life, as well as mining.
- Photo by Rachel Von Stroup
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Address
Walb Student Union
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Date
May 19, 2024