Complex rhythms, tremendous physical efforts, endless energy and dynamism, artistic discipline and precision, authentic costumes, spectacular and packed with plenty of humor… Yes, Japanese drum ensemble Yamato is on a European tour again and they’ll be making a long-awaited return to the Hungarian capital in April, bringing us their newest show, Matsuri Fiesta!.
For those unlucky folks who haven’t heard of Yamato, the troupe was founded back in 1993 by Masa Ogawa in Yamato-no-kuni (“country of Yamato” – hence their name). Today it’s known as Nara prefecture and is based in the district’s Asuka village, a place crammed with ancient monuments and often referred to as the birthplace of Japanese culture. Since their formation, they have racked up as many as 2000 performances in 45 countries and wowed about two million audience members around the globe. They’ve spent six to ten months a year touring abroad since their international debut at the Edinburgh Festival in 1998, where they bagged the prestigious “Spirit of the Fringe” award.
The members of the ensemble live together, eat together – in fact, they do more or less everything together. The drummers follow a strict daily routine: they get up at 7 a.m., run 10 kilometers and do weight training to be able to pull off the amazing physical feat that characterizes all their performances, then they spend the rest of the day practicing individually and together, usually until midnight. A pretty dedicated bunch, we say.
The tones produced by the troupe’s various sized taikos (drums), made of animal skin and ancient tree trunks, might differ in pitch but they blend into a wonderfully cohesive whole, resembling the strong heartbeats of a powerful body. The Japanese even have a word for the curious sensation created by the impeccably coordinated drummers in unison: “Tamashy”, which translates as soul or spirit, that is, the basic ingredient of life. As if the pulse of antiquity started beating inside of your body, generating a strong, warm and joyous feeling, a celebration of life. As Yamato’s motto has it: “Go anywhere if invited and make the world a little more happy.”
April 22, 24, 25, 26 at 8 p.m.; April 25 also at 4 p.m.
Budapest Congress and World Trade Center
1123 Budapest, Jagelló út 1-3.
Tel.: +36.1.372.5400, +36.1.372.5700
www.yamato.jp
Tickets:
Budapest Congress and World Trade Center
Ticket offices: Interticket, Kristóf Ticket Office
www.yamato.hu
www.tex.hu