North American Taiko Conference. I know it well!
Today I want to talk about the first half of NATC. No, not Thursday and Friday, but literally the first half of NATC, "North American".
I've heard people say they want more instructors from Japan to come out and teach workshops at NATC. It's also hard to get new groups to play at Taiko Jam from North America; we're re-cycling groups that have played once or twice before. Also, there is both more access to and more awareness of taiko outside of North America that isn't from Japan.
So how important is the NA to NATC?
First, looking at data from previous conferences, Japanese workshop leaders don't get any higher scores than anyone else. So would having more be a better thing? The data doesn't support it. Second, at previous Taiko Jams, when we invited Japanese artists, I overheard comments from people who really wished we would showcase North American groups since that was the purpose of NATC (hence the name?)
Now, even though I bring up those examples, I'm not quite decided where I stand. On one hand, if we drop the NA, we can have groups from all over the world play at Taiko Jam. It would be nice to keep NA-focused, but a little bit of "other" exposure is quite welcome! (I'm looking at you, Kagemusha Taiko!) Inviting more instructors from Japan is fine by me as long as it's worth the money to have them here and they provide quality instruction to those attending their workshops.
Maybe we just need to pick the right name. How about NATC+ or "North American Taiko Conference and then some"? It's more about finding the purpose of the conference and making sure it's serving the needs of the NA taiko community. It can't be all things to all people, but if we're all on the same page, it can only get better!
All the instructors I had came from the SFO/San Jose/Sacramento triangle, and all had some things in common that I don't see so much in Kodo or Ondekoza-trained people, or in my Midwestern group.
ReplyDeleteThat exposure was good for me at the time, and all of them were great instructors and I learned something from each. But I think diversity can't hurt, whether that means instructors from Japan or New York or Brazil or the UK or Hong Kong. More importantly, from different lineages.
NATC to me indicates the people that live and play taiko in NA. That's who the conference is 'for' and that is where it is 'staged'. But that does not mean that only NA people and groups can perform, attend or teach at the conference. I want the opportunity to learn from skilled taiko people, I don't care where they come from.
ReplyDeleteJust my 2 cents worth
Annette MacKay
Stockton Bukkyo Taiko