Blurring the Color Line with Taiko will feature community drumming and resistance, facilitated by ManMan Mui & Sasen Cain, and taiko performance by Mujō Dream Flight, and special guest; Carrie Alita Carter.
About Mujō Dream Flight (MDF)
Members: (pictured left to right); ManMan Mui, Chris Tsang Phua (pronouns: Chris/Chris’), Maxyn Rose Leitner (pronouns: fae/faer/faers), and Sasen Cain.
MDF is the artistic vehicle of founding taiko artists Sasen Cain, Yeeman “ManMan” Mui, and Maxyn Rose Leitner. Together, and in collaboration with other predominantly trans/non-binary taiko artists, they create both original works and traditional adaptations. MDF’s art centers dance and personal storytelling informed by their specific cultural backgrounds.
In 2023, MDF is embarking on its inaugural tour, called “Haimweh” (Bavarian for homesickness), with the dual aims of highlighting trans/non-binary peoples’ often-fraught connections with their hometowns & families, and a journey of retrieving the belongings of one of our members whose parents don’t accept faer transness, and reclaiming identity, belonging & inter-dependence. This tour is funded, in part, by the Taiko Community Alliance.
About Yeeman “ManMan” Mui (they/them)
Yeeman “ManMan” Mui is a multidisciplinary taiko artist, dedicated to artistic expression to foster an inclusive, equitable, and creative community through multisensory expression and a mindful connection with one’s body. ManMan’s work in their early 20s with Hong Kong cinema was a pivotal moment in their career, driving toward an understanding of how soundscape composition opens avenues for authentic expression as Hong Kong Chinese and Neurodivergent. ManMan debuted as a taiko soundscape artist for OTHELLO at Hawai’i Theater in 2016. Currently working as a Teaching Artist in Grand Vision’s Meet the Music Program, ManMan also teaches taiko drumming lessons at the Grand Annex, Los Angeles Taiko Institute, and Makoto Taiko. ManMan co-created a neurodiversity advocacy school program titled “Listening into Silence” with taiko artist Carrie Alita Carter under the name Actually Autistic Artists.
About Sasen Cain (pronouns: Sasen/Sasen’s)
Sasen:
- is a Bengali-American scientist, artist, and educator who grew up mostly in the South and also in Kolkata, India.
- has been studying taiko since 2008–in SF, Boston, New York, Providence, San Diego, and LA—with many different styles, teachers, and directors.
- has founded or co-directed several taiko groups with open membership policies.
- founded or chaired both of the major gender justice organizations in the English-speaking taiko community, and has also advocated for trans/non-binary inclusion in higher education, STEM, and healthcare.
- composes and choreographs, and uses those words interchangeably at times.
- combines ideas and practices from dance, engineering, and brain & cognitive sciences to teach and to inspire strong practice habits.
- uses Sasen‘s name as a pronoun: Sasen/Sasen/Sasen’s.
About Carrie Alita Carter (pronouns: Carrie/Carrie’s)
Carrie Alita Carter is a globally acclaimed taiko artist and dancer whose original compositions are known for their dance-like choreography. Founder of All Things Taiko, the first online resource for learning taiko, Carrie also created the only taiko-specific body care program, JABS (Joint Mobility Alignment Balance Stability). While working toward an MPhil. in Ethnomusicology at The University of Hong Kong (2012), Carrie and ManMan Mui began envisioning Listening into Silence, now an interactive taiko show that connects with students on topics of neurodiversity, language, race, gender, and communication. After 7 years in Japan, Carrie currently resides in Silver Spring, MD as a taiko educator, the Curator for School Culture and Inclusion at The Springwell School, and owner and artist for Japan-inspired Etsy shop Kansai Treasures.
About Taiko Drumming
“Taiko is a postwar tradition of Japanese drumming that is also Japanese American and Asian American. It is loud, physical, and powerfully expressive. It is a deeply mediated world music; it is both very old and quite contemporary; it is a fusion of different musical influences; it is folkloricized; and it is a global phenomenon, with approximately three hundred groups in North American and perhaps five thousand in Japan.” – Dr. Deborah Wong, Louder and Faster: Pain, Joy, and the Body Politic in Asian American Taiko(2019)
About the Event: The Grand Vision Foundation presents an afternoon arts experience connecting important questions about race, immigration, culture, and American-ness; Blurring the Color Line with Taiko on Sunday, February 26 at 2:00pm. This event, curated by taiko artists, will uplift the voices of Asian and Black artists, activists, and educators. Offered in-person at the Grand Annex for $25 or streamed live via Zoom for $20 to allow for all to participate. Tickets can be purchased online at GrandVision.org, by calling (310) 833-4813 or by visiting the Grand Annex box office Monday-Friday, 10AM-6PM.
☆ The event is part of the Roots & Rambles series dedicated to the preservation, artistry and evolution of folk and traditional music in the US. Made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts.
