Behind "Swingposium:" Activism in Performing Arts

Swingposium (https://taiko.org/swingposium) is an immersive theater production, being presented by San Jose Taiko at Stanford in November. It tells the hidden history of Japanese Americans boosting morale in WWII Incarceration Camps through swing dances with live big band music, and will include student performers from Stanford Jazz Orchestra, Stanford Taiko, Swingtime, and the Asian American Theater Project. This class - through readings and discussion, conversations with artists, and hands-on experience with taiko, theater and swing music/dance - explores foundations of this production: the Japanese American community, North American taiko, African American roots of big band and swing, and immersive and Asian American theater.