Yuaikai Ryukyu Taiko is an Okinawan taiko dance group which started in Metro Vancouver in 2004 with members of the Vancouver Okinawa-ken Yuaikai (friendship association). The group wishes to be “ambassadors” of Okinawan folk performing art in which Okinawan style drumming and dancing combine together along with traditional as well as contemporary Okinawan music.
The members are a mix of generations, some as young as four years old to others in their 60s, which reflects a true presentation of grassroots folk art.
Yuaikai Ryukyu Taiko have performed at numerous multicultural festivals, neighbourhood charity shows, Japan night at the Mariner’s Safeco Field and the Cultural Olympiad 2008.
For information on Yuaikai Ryukyu Taiko, please contact Masami Hanashiro at richall@telus.net