Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Japanese Taiko Drum Concert hosted by the Embassy of Japan in cooperation with the National Council for Culture, Arts, and letters. The concert was part of celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Kuwaiti-Japanese diplomatic relations. It was held at Abdul Aziz Hussein theater in Mishref, and I just have to take this opportunity to express how much I loved it and how much I loved the courteous and warm welcome of the Japanese hosts.
The performance started with a small speech by Japan’s ambassador in Kuwait, which he did in Arabic and I was very impressed by that. The audience loved this gesture and gave him a strong applause. And then the performance started (scroll down for a preview of the clip).
The band, which consisted of a Taiko drummer, a violinist, and a saxophonist, gave a stunning and a powerful performance mixing traditional Japanese drum ensembles with modern sounds. Their energy and passion was truly infectious. I especially loved the band’s exceptional drumming skills. It was like nothing I have ever seen before, truly a musical piece of art The concert really got me thinking into choosing Japan as my next travel destination.
The only thing I was disappointed by was the fact that there was a weak audience turnout. It’s a shame! The event was announced in the newspapers and a couple of other blogs, plus admission is free, one would expect a stronger turnout. Anyways, there will be another performance by the band tonight at 7:30 PM. So how about you kick start the long weekend with some cultural dose?
At the entrance of the theater, there was a beautiful kimono on display. Check out how pretty and precise the embroidery is.
And here's a short clip which I took last night of the stunning performance by the TAIKO band . The video really does not do it justice.
Comments
I hope you managed to go see it the next day ;)
The Grapvine Kuwait
Thank you and thanks to you and LWDLIK, we come to know about these fabulous events :)
Nadine Mneimneh
I'm glad you enjoyed it :) You should have seen it in real! emotionally charged performance!