second major production with Ragamala Dance called "1001 Buddhas".
This one is much bigger than our last collaboration, "Sva", in that
it's not just Tokara and Ragamala, but also Unnikrishnan (Chenda),
Rajna (Mrdangam), Anjna (Violin) and Lalit (Voice). It is much more
complicated this time around, but I have a feeling the finished work
is going to be a stunner. Hoping that we will be able to tour this
around the world, because it is certainly the first time (second
actually..."Sva" was the first) that a taiko drumming group is working
so intricately with Indian dance and music.
Whenever I see collaborations of this kind, usually the taiko group
does their simple 4/4 taiko rhythms and the other group will do their
thing. Those performances have always left me feeling that the
creative process wasn't taken to it's maximum potential. My feeling
is that each group should challenge themselves to study each others
art to be able to understand, and create a successful collaboration.
