The Traditional Performing Arts

I don’t need to make it a big secret; I’m a big fan of the traditional performing arts. Sometimes called the Folk Arts, although I don’t prefer that term as it can be misconstrued as a derogatory term. Personally, I’m involved in the traditional music of Japan, though I enjoy many other culture’s traditions, too. I perform on an instrument called the shamisen. It’s a 3-stringed banjo like instrument that came originally from China, then into Japan by way of the Ryukyu Islands in the 16th Century. If you’ve ever heard any music from a Kabuki play, then you know what this instrument sounds like!

What really interests me is the question of how these arts are relevant in the modern world today. I definitely think they are. Certainly the National Endowment for the Arts thinks so. They have a whole department dedicated to it. So does UNESCO. Why? Because they are a living treasure from our history. There are plenty of museums that house art works, furniture, pottery, anything so we can understand how our ancestors lived. But the performing arts can still exist in real time. You can go watch a traditional Greek play, or see a group of dancers performing in the Balinese style. Also probably very familiar and popular today are the big Taiko drumming from Japan. There is lots of music being written today for traditional instruments, and modern choreography for the Indian classical dance Bharatanatyam. Let us not forget our own Western traditions, too.

I would also like to do my part to keep the traditional arts alive. Be it through documenting it in my photography, or by being a performer. I will seek to learn more about it, so that I can also share what I have learned.