The 2010 New Moon Festival Line-up

Tandava

Tandava is inspired by the folk and classical music of India and Bangladesh, and draws upon the wealth of musical traditions from China, the Middle East, Africa, and the West. Tabla and polyphonic marimba provide the rhythmic and textural foundation for erhu, flutes, guitar, and vocals to soar over. Original compositions, dynamic improvisation, and arrangements of traditional styles bridge the ancient and the contemporary. Among Vancouver's most successful world music artists, the members of Tandava are trained in Carnatic, Hindustani, Chinese, and Western classical traditions. For CBC Newsworld, Adrian Harewood described the quartet as "a metaphor for Canada in the 21st century." Tandava's unique blend of instruments, musical sensibilities, and ethnic traditions results in an original voice, created from and reflecting our rich intercultural environment.

www.tandava.com

Chibi Taiko

Chibi Taiko, based in Vancouver, is the first children’s taiko ensemble formed in Canada. Chibi was founded by Shinobu Homma and his friends in the fall of 1993 with a goal of passing on this unique and dynamic performing art to the next generation of Asian Canadians. The group’s philosophy emphasizes cooperation, leadership, responsibility and spirituality in addition to the physical and musical discipline needed to build a cohesive and dynamic taiko ensemble. Currently the membership is 24 youth ranging in age from 6 to 23 years old. The training includes 1 to 2 ˝ hours of practice weekly and periodic workshops given by special guests. The group’s activities also include occasional performances requested by various cultural and community events.

Chibi Taiko has performed for:

• Japanese Canadian Volunteers Association (Tonari Gumi) fundraising events

• Vancouver Folk Music Festival 1999 and 2008

• Taiko Jam 2007 in Seattle at the North American Taiko Conference

• “For Children We Care” for the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation 2004

• First Night Festival 2005 in Whistler

• Powell Street Festival 1995 – 2008

• Canada Day Celebrations at various venues 1996 to 2009

Chibi was also featured in a TV promotional film for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The group’s commitment and dedication led them to tour Japan in the summer of 2009 to study and experience the taiko drumming in its native soil in order to further their understanding of the art form.

www.chibitaiko.bc.ca

Mind of a Snail Puppet Co.

Mind of a Snail Puppet Co. are a shadow puppet duo from the West Coast of B.C. Canada. Since 2003, they have been developing a multilayered style of visual storytelling using an overhead projector (OHP) as their main light source. Their performances combine originally crafted puppets, music, masked characters, recycled waste, and eclectic experimentations in lighting and timing. Mind of a Snail colourfully exposes cultural quirks by developing simple stories around ideas that represent human interconnectedness with what is natural, what is artificial, and where everything blurs in between. This “Compost-Modern” approach is being developed by Mind of a Snail into a mesmerizing art form that dazzles audiences of all ages.

www.mindofasnail.org

Xtreme Soul Style

Xtreme Soul Style was formed from three different crews – Style Elements, Extreme Steps, and Soul – to take part in a competition over three years ago. The grouping became so successful that they decided to stay as one big group. They perform a variety of dance styles: pop, locking, breaking, isolation, to name a few.

"To put it all together, it's choreo. We can't just give it all its own name, 'cause we do have our basic technique. We're not fully hip-hop, or fully technical dance, and we can learn from all different dances in Vancouver and take the small little things from them to make it our own style. We don't pick one style and just stick with it for the whole way. We like 'variety-ing' our style and everyone in the group brings forth different styles, and at the same time, we are always trying to learn different styles," says the group.

More about Xtreme Soul Style