World Music Showcase a first for Maricopa

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If You Go
What: Maricopa Arts Council’s World Music Showcase
Where: Copper Sky Community Green
When: Nov. 18, 6-7:30 p.m.
How much: Free
Note: Bring your own light refreshments and a blanket for the lawn.[/quote_box_right]Maricopa ARTS Council (MAC) will present a World Music Showcase outside at Copper Sky on Nov.  18, featuring music and dance from two vital and diverse non-European cultures.

This free special event is the main November offering in MAC’s 3-season expo “Got Arts, Maricopa?,” dedicated to celebrating local talents and to introducing the city to types of arts never before experienced in Maricopa.

The showcase features the taiko drum ensemble Fushicho Daiko and the Ak-Chin Indian Community’s Ak Chin Band and Ak-Chin Ba’ Ban Keihina Traditional Dancers. The cultures and traditions behind each of these ensembles were formed ages ago, and their performances carry meanings far beyond mere entertainment into the spiritual realm.

Taiko is the Japanese word for “great drum.” This ancient musical art form originated centuries ago as a means of communication to signal distant villages of advancing enemies or natural disasters. Fushicho Daiko Phoenix Drummers is Arizona’s premier professional taiko group performing both traditional and original Taiko songs in costume with power, energy, skill and joy.

The musicians of the Ak Chin Band and the Ak-Chin Ba’ Ban Keihina Traditional Dancers are sought after for demonstration and festival performances because their traditional dress and beautiful hand-woven baskets form a compelling example of tribal culture and traditions come to life.

This article appears in the November issue of InMaricopa.