Kazuyo Ito — Work Samples
Mesh Mélange | 2025
enTaiko Annual Concert
March 2025 | PCC Sylvania Performing Arts Center, Portland
Medium: Live taiko and interdisciplinary performance, documented on video
Review excerpt: 0:00–2:27
As Artistic Director of enTaiko, I led the concert’s artistic direction, bringing taiko into collaboration with Gathered DanceAbility, Deaf tap artist Scott Selby, and breaker Walle Brown.
The concert explored relationships between drumming and different movement practices. This sample reflects my interest in creating a cohesive performance while allowing each collaborator’s musical and physical expression to remain distinct.
ROU | 2026
enTaiko Annual Concert
March 14, 2026 | Lincoln Performance Hall, Portland State University
Medium: Live taiko performance, documented on video
Review excerpt: 0:00–2:57
As Artistic Director, I directed ROU, bringing enTaiko together with Deaf taiko groups KOBIKI from Osaka and YUMENKO from Tokyo. The concert explored Japanese drumming, movement, vibration, and visual communication while recognizing each ensemble’s distinct artistic practice.
This sample represents a development in my artistic direction: creating a shared performance space for artists with different ways of experiencing rhythm, while preserving their individual expression and connection to taiko traditions.
Kinematic / Kinesthetic | 2025
Collaboration with AXIS Dance Company
May 2025 | Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA
Medium: Live taiko and contemporary dance, documented on video
Review excerpt: 0:00–3:00
I performed taiko as part of enTaiko’s collaboration with AXIS Dance Company. The work brought live percussion into dialogue with disabled and nondisabled dancers, movement, and assistive technologies.
This sample demonstrates my performance practice in an interdisciplinary setting, exploring how rhythmic phrasing, physical expression, and ensemble timing interact with dance. Choreography was led by Nadia Adame in collaboration with AXIS dancers.