THE TEAM

Jonas vom Orde

Primary event organiser
Concert night director
German language contact

Few performance artforms combine music and movement as effectively as Taiko does. Being a professional musician and tournament dancer for quite some years now, I always felt drawn to these two fundamentals of artistic and personal expression. Each continent, each culture, each individual has a specific approach to movement and music, which leads to a variety of different voices within one single artform. Taiko is no different in that regard. And this is why I’m co-organising this expo: Let’s explore the voice of European Taiko together!

Steven Cools

Event organiser
Benelux contact

2016, the first European Taiko Conference… attending it is still one of the best decisions in my life.
Now, some 6 years later, after numerous cool and fun taiko workshops and events in Europe, meeting the most amazing people, players and teachers along the way, and being part of the Taiko Bastards has only made this path even more enriching and fulfilling, definitely with this new challenge of organizing the 1st Euro Taiko Expo.
It feels great to be able to add some bastardness to an amazing organizing team that is bound to create an inspiring event, to share and celebrate the power and diversity in and of European taiko, and to greet, engage and connect new and old taiko folks on their taiko journey. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Romina Taverna

Event organiser

A performing Dancer & Percussionist, taiko came to me some years after, when the need of connecting both paths started to call. The aesthetics of the body and the connection with the deeper beats of the drums, made of taiko the journey I wanted to start instantly.
Since I started in Feb 2012 in Argentina, my taiko journey gave me not only the opportunity to know and learn from many wonderful taiko players that came to Argentina, but also allowed me to connect with beautiful people in Brazil and also Japan where I trained. In 2016, I started ZenDaiko with the mission of continuing training the taiko style I learned in Japan, while also incorporating Zazen, another discipline I practiced in Japan. In 2020, life brought me to Europe where the Taiko Community warmly welcomed me. Not only the Loco Ladies, but also old and new friends.
Being a part of the European Taiko Expo is truly an honor. It is also a way for me to give back to the European Taiko Community all of the support and trust I received since the beginning. I am all in!! Let´s make this Expo the best experience we can!!!!

Khilibe Chiara

Event adviser
Italian language contact

ELEVEN years ago taiko got into my life thanks to a car accident, bad things can have wonderful side effects!! Since I couldn’t find taiko in Italy at first, my experience could start thanks to connections, travels and players’ generosity. Then taiko took over: I did my MA thesis on taiko in LA and found a group close by, Taiko Lecco: with them I perform and teach, also in social and educational contexts. I tried to grow taiko in my group and the Italian community inviting teachers and taiko friends all over the world, which brought me to create my “Khilibe’s Taiko Kitchen”.
I truly believe taiko makes us better humans mainly through connection and sharing with an empowering community: that’s why I am now on Taiko Expo!

Soo-Im Jansson

Event adviser (2021)
Nordic countries and Swedish language contact (2021)

I began my Taiko journey in 2013 with a pretty narrow tunnel vision of what Taiko was all about. Having attended the European Taiko Conferences and other European Taiko events have been such an eye-opening experience for me. Discovering the Taiko world is so amazing, and especially connecting with others and exploring different approaches to Taiko has been invaluable. Having over 20 years of Zen meditation, I find an affinity with Taiko, since it brings me to the here and now, into the moment, as well as being an incredible tool for self reflection and personal development.
I’m very honored and excited to be a part of the Taiko Expo team that is introducing a new event format creating another opportunity to connect and develop the unique voices of European Taiko.

Mel Ski

Primary event organiser
Expo day director
English language contact

Since moving to Germany in 2015, the taiko community in Europe has been an integral part of my life. The things I’ve learned, the people I’ve met and the support I’ve received have been invaluable to me both as a person, and as a taiko player. Now that I find myself in a position to give something back to the community, what else is there to do but put on this Expo! To all the taiko people I’ve met in Europe over the years – this is my gift back to you. Let’s get together again, reconnect with each other, and play our little hearts out!

Jonathan Kirby

Primary adviser
ETE21 Theme song composer
French language contact

Taiko, it is said, presents limitless creative possibilities.  I’ve long thought of Europe as being taiko’s “wild frontier” because everything about taiko is new on this continent. This gives European taiko players great freedom to express themselves in their own way, which is what I have sought to do over some 20 years or more with Kagemusha Taiko.  As a taiko friend of mine says, “it’s great when people go beyond echoing what others have already said, and add something new to the conversation.”  I love seeing European taiko players do this, and I’m excited to see how the Euro Taiko Expo will encourage and support this.  There’s some amazing taiko in Japan, North America and elsewhere in the world – I look forward to a time when others will say that about Europe too.

Ingmar Kikat

Event organiser

For many years of my professional taiko life there was only occasional contact and exchange with other taiko players and groups in Europe. Then I experienced the first European Taiko Conference in 2016 in England, which was such an inspiring and connecting event. Many things happened in the following years that gave me and many others the feeling of being part of a large community, that shares as many common things as it has differences. I would say, the learning opportunities through taiko and its surrounding community are sheer endless, on an artistic level as well as on a personal level. I am eager to see how the Euro Taiko Expo will add a new chapter to this after a long, and for most of us very difficult, pandemic break.

Mónica Vedia

Event adviser
Spanish language contact

I’ve been lucky enough to dedicate my professional life to the performing arts for more than twenty years now. I love creating and working on the stage, putting interpretation, dance, music and other visual arts at the service of the storytelling to move the audience. When I discovered Taiko in 2003, I realized the stage potential it has and I always dreamed of having the opportunity of creating shows with it. I started working with my company TaikoMon in 2017, which I still do. Now, the idea of creating a stage performance full of European voices that shout at the same time is an exciting challenge for everyone and it is an honor to work with such talented taiko mates.

Ilka Haase

Event adviser
Japanese language contact

One of my favorite plants is the bamboo. It takes time for the seed to sprout. But once it breaks through the ground it is fast-growing and flexible. And it is while nothing seems to be happening, that the bamboo develops its network of roots. This is also how I approach taiko and the way I teach at my school in Heidelberg: building a strong base of fundamentals with the aim to become flexible. Being able to adapt quickly to new ideas is something that I value a lot. In the over twenty years of my taiko life I have lived in different places and was inspired by a range of styles and personalities. This constant stream of new input has challenged me to remain as flexible as the bamboo. And it’s this spirit that I want to bring to Hamburg. Because the Taiko Expo is a great opportunity for taiko in Europe to strengthen its network and to grow some new green shoots.

Wom Bat

Quality control
Marsupial language contact