Through their 25 years of professional experience, both are recognized as relentless innovators, working with many North American and international taiko groups including San Jose Taiko, On Ensemble, Portland Taiko, TaikoArts Midwest and Kagemusha Taiko in the UK. Toru was a professional company member appearing in six original musical productions and teaching within Warabiza’s in-house residency program for youth. Michelle was awarded the prestigious Bunka-cho fellowship from the Japanese government. They met at Warabi-za, Japan’s foremost traditional folk dance troupe located in Northern Japan.

Michelle Fujii & Toru Watanabe, Co-Directors of Unit Souzou, build creative, imaginative works while honoring the history and roots of the taiko art form. 龍 is also an acclaimed composer whose pieces are performed by groups in Japan, Hong Kong, Europe, and the U.S. Katsuji Kondo, and has won several awards for his odaiko performances at taiko competitions across Japan. He received his odaiko training from former Kodo core player, Mr. 龍’s style of playing emphasizes sensitivity, power, and clarity.

He led Shippu Uchi Daiko for 15 years and launched his career as a professional solo taiko performer and instructor in 2008. 嶋本龍 first encountered taiko at age 11 in his hometown of Yuasa in Wakayama Prefecture, where he still lives and performs taiko today. Yurika’s background in piano, dance, mixed media art, psychology and certification in TESOL combine in a unique mix to inform her work with taiko as an instrument for the individual’s expression of self and connection to community. As a visual artist with a degree in Psychology, Yurika is deeply interested in the connection between tactile/rhythmic aesthetics and creativity in art and music as well as the applications of taiko/art to holistic and mental health. She is a regular instructor at the North American Taiko Conferences, and was a panelist at the Women & Taiko Summer Taiko Institute in 2017. As part of SJT, she performs locally, nationally, and internationally, leads rehearsals, classes, and workshops, and composes original works. Yurika Chiba began playing taiko in Tokushima, Japan in 1995 and joined San Jose Taiko’s Artistic Staff in 2007. Don’t miss out: registration opens on February 5th! 😉 12 hours of taiko with 4 phenomenal instructors. We had lots of inquiries about booking performances, and took lots of pictures with audience members afterwards.We have an amazing lineup of instructors coming to CONNECT 2022! And because of the unique format of the conference, there’s no need for you to agonize over which workshops to sign up for…you just have to register and show up. Aside the impressive display of kites being flown along the beach, the audience is always supportive and enthusiastic, which makes the performances lots of fun! We enjoyed some time between our two sets to get sandy playing beach volleyball and frisbee, as well as trying our hand at some kite moves of our own. The Kite Festival is one of our most regular gigs–this was our third year in a row coming back–and it’s among those we look forward to the most. We performed two great sets right on the beach against a backdrop of more kites than I care to count. This weekend Prota soared to Seal Beach for the 18th annual JAS Kite Festival.

Prota taiko