The name is not only a team cry to strive and put all of one’s energy and focus into the drums, but the Japanese characters also resonate with the meaning “Sound of the Drum”.
The members of this dynamic troupe have drawn from a wide variety of backgrounds and come together to study and display their love of the Japanese drums to the wider Perth audience.
Their Sensei, Simon Vanyai, originally studied Taiko in the mountains of Nagano, and since bringing his love of Wadaiko back to Australia has helped form four Taiko groups across Tasmania and WA.
Many of the members of Taiko On are Japanese and have relished the opportunity to train in their traditional musical arts whilst living so far from their cultural home. Other members have a long-running love of percussion and are drawn to the elegant movements, powerful rhythms, and teamwork in the syncronised Wadaiko ensemble.