TAO - the Cirque du Soleil of drumming

Last night we had the absolute pleasure of watching an amazing Taiko drumming show by a group called TAO. Taiko is a traditional Japanese style of drumming. The tickets were our Christmas presents from Jo and so the 3 of us headed off together.

We went into it with no real expectations as the only form of Taiko drumming we have seen has been at the odd festival, more about keeping a constant rhythm for people to dance to as apposed to being the show themselves.

Well it was another of those truly amazing experiences that you come away from totally buzzing! Our hearts beating a million miles an hour and the sound of drums ringing in our ears. I think we both wanted to quit our jobs and take up Taiko drumming! It is very difficult to explain what actually happened but if you've ever been to Cirque du Soleil you'll have a good idea of what we mean. Imagine that but with drums minus the flying. It was jaw dropping at times.

They have performed in 16 countries, 300 cities and do 500 performances every year. They consist of 2 groups but this concert had both groups together. They have been to NZ twice. Like anything in Japan they have a cult like following here with a fan club and people in the crowd stretching out trying to touch them!

Click here http://www.drum-tao.com/ to check out their website, you can watch a video of what they do, trust me you'll wish you were there live!

Their pure strength and stamina was amazing as they pretty much had their hands above their heads beating drums as hard and fast as they could for 2hrs, we were tired just watching! The girls certainly liked their bodies.

Here is a wee clip we took secretly, quality isn't very good so make sure you look at their website!

note: Pics courtesy of their website...go have a look!