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KEYNOTE: Improvisation in American Taiko

Deborah Wong

Published: 2008-09-05

VIDEO: Dr. Wong discusses improvised solos in Japanese American drumming and their relationship to ideas about tradition and hybrid cultural identities. Gender is also a focal point of the talk, and numerous video examples of taiko performances are presented. TEXT: A biography and abstract for Dr. Wong.

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...partly because I know that’s the only way that we could solve a creative problem [using improvisation with children ranging in abilities] and what doesn’t work is trying to impose a template on the students who are not able to respond to that template.

– Pauline Oliveros (in working with Abilities First)