Described as “breathtaking, dazzling and mesmerising”, the internationally celebrated Taiwanese percussion group, Ten Drum, opens its South African tour at the Sibaya Casino on August 30.
Nominated for a Grammy in 2010 in the World Music Category, Ten Drum honours ancient traditional Taiwanese drumming, but is also part of Taiwan’s modern urban culture.
The fascinating drumming performance is integrated with dance moves, martial arts poses, atmospheric lighting and percussive narrative.
Ten Drum has notched up over 700 performances, in about 50 cities in over 15 countries, including the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and a record- breaking mass drumming display of over 1951 drums at the Tainan Municipal Stadium in 2004. In 2009 they were the toast of the Pilsen Festival in the Czech Republic.
It is now South Africa’s turn to feel the pulse of this percussive treat. Ten Drum – The Beat of Taiwan opens its four-city SA Tour at the iZulu Theatre at Sibaya Casino for one performance only on Friday August 30 at 8pm. The next day, as part of their ethos of exchanging global cultures, they will host a drumming workshop at the eNanda Adventure Site at eNanda Dam, followed by a vibrant outdoor performance for the public at 1pm.
With the support of The Green Corridor and the eThekweni Municipality, the Ten Drum will participate in the “eNanda Duelling Drums”, an exchange of Taiwanese and South African rhythms.
The more intimate Brooklyn Theatre will then raise the curtain on Ten Drum in Pretoria on September 3 at 8pm. They will then perform at the SA Tattoo at Montecasino.
Bloemfontein’s Odeon Auditorium at the University of Free State marks their final performance in South Africa on September 10.
The picturesque setting of Sibaya Casino, set amid rolling sugar cane, has an emotional connection to the Ten Drum home base in the South Taiwanese city of Tainan where founder Hsieh Shih established a Fascinating Culture Park on the site of a disused sugar refinery.
This drumming village is a not-to- be missed tourist attraction in Tainan with deep cultural, ecological and historical significance and has been home to Ten Drum since 2007.
“We hope that Ten Drum audiences will better understand Taiwan’s original and authentic folk culture,” said Hseih Shih.
Judy Wu, director of international music production at the Taipei-based Wind Music International Corporation, said: “The group’s performances are powerful, full of intensity and release, evoking vivid images in one’s mind.”
The SA tour has been made possible by the support of The Taiwanese Migrants Community Uplifting Programme, a non-profit company established in SA in 2006, the Taipei Liaison Office in South Africa and the Cultural Ministry of Taiwan.
Booking for all shows is at Computicket.
BACKGROUND NOTES.
• The Ten Drum group is headed by the inspiring Hsieh Shih, who has for the past 13 years successfully modernised and popularised Taiwanese drumming establishing a place for it in global culture. Founded in 2000, the “ten” in the troupe’s English name is a direct translation of his given name “SHIH”. Not simply because Shih, Hsieh’s given name, means ten. To Hsieh, the Chinese character ‘十’ resembles two crossed drumsticks bestowing great vitality and energy upon the troupe. Moreover, ten carries the symbolism of the power derived from the cooperation of artists.
• Every one of Hsieh’s works draws from Taiwan’s ancient drum art, but Hsieh further infuses it with story lines that describe Taiwan’s history, scenic beauty and culture, thus creating music that Taiwanese can truly call their own.
ENDS
