THE Lautoka Girmit Centre hosted a special Indian tabla and Japanese taiko cultural exchange, bringing together local students and Japanese university students through music.
Students from the Fiji Girmit Cultural Centre had the opportunity to showcase their talent last Saturday and participate in workshops and cultural activities with Japanese taiko drummer Seishiro Kawahito.
Fiji Girmit Cultural Centre tutor Samresh Rao said the exchange provided an opportunity for students to learn about Japanese musical traditions while sharing their own cultural heritage.
“We will do some workshops and some presentations and maybe, if we have time, we can do some collaboration just to see if we can match the beats,” Mr Rao said.
He said it was the first time the centre had organised a musical exchange with Japanese performers.
Japanese university student Mayu Inayama said the program aimed to promote cultural and international exchange through music while highlighting the importance of music education for children in Fiji.
The exchange brought together Indian tabla and Japanese taiko, two traditional forms of percussion from different cultures.
Ms Inayama said she had invited Mr Kawahito, a Japanese university student and taiko drummer, to Fiji to participate in the program.
Lautoka Girmit Centre manager Selwa Nandan said the event provided young students with an opportunity to demonstrate the skills they had developed through their training at the cultural centre.
He said the performances also allowed parents to see the progress their children had made and helped build their confidence.
“Another important thing is building confidence,” Mr Nandan said.
