Unit Souzou

With relentless rhythms and mesmerizing movements, the ancient Japanese art of taiko has captivated the senses for 12,000 years. Today, Portland-based crew Unit Souzou forges new taiko traditions through their expressive blend of taiko, dance, song, and personal stories.  

In Japanese, ‘Souzou’ can be written in three ways meaning ‘creation’, ‘imagination’, or ‘noisy’, alluding to a force that births new ideas. Inspired by these words, Unit Souzou honors the history and roots of taiko while creating imaginative original works. With their latest performance, Constant State of Otherness, these poignant percussionists explore identity and our longing to belong and be part of something bigger.  

Unit Souzou brings their performance Constant State of Otherness to the Sheldon Community Arts Hangar on Saturday, March 22, 2025.

Constant State of Otherness is a multi-layered performance exploring the impacts of the universal experiences of othering and alienation. Through taiko, Japanese folk dance, song, and personal story, six performers guide the audience through a four-part journey inspired by experiences of isolation and displacement that come from not having an easy sense of home. 

Rooted in ancestral wisdom and survival, Constant State of Otherness resists simplistic translations of language, cultural ways and the complicated emotions that otherness evokes. By allowing their stories to fractally unfold through the resonance of drum, voice and movement, Unit Souzou offers an invitation to locate our shared longing to belong.

Unit Souzou's performance in Talkeetna will have limited seating available (approximately 95 seats), on a first come first served basis.  Expect this immersive experience to be loud.  Denali Arts Council will have foam earplugs available, but attendees, especially children and those particularly sensitive to sound, should consider bringing their own ear protection. 

Unit Souzou will be offering a free interactive community demonstration at the Sheldon Community Arts Hangar on Sunday, March 23, beginning at 3:00pm.

Unit Souzou was made possible with funding by Rasmuson Foundation through the Harper Arts Touring Fund, and is administered by the Alaska State Council on the Arts.  Also funded in part by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Theater Project, with lead funding from The Mellon Foundation and additional support from the Doris Duke Foundation.