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Claudia Lyra
Claudia Lyra has brought Brazilian culture to others since she moved to US in 2003. Claudia trained in Brazil in capoeira (a Brazilian art form that can be practiced as a martial art or a dance, and its accompanying music). Claudia is also an accomplished percussionist, studying traditional Brazilian percussion…
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Community Music Center
San Francisco’s Community Music Center’s mission is to make music accessible to people of all ages, musical levels, and financial backgrounds. Their students range in age from one to 90+ years old and enjoy classes in everything from Western classical to Chinese to Latin Music. Community…
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Cultural Arts of Gold
Founded by dancer and teacher LaKiesha Golden, Cultural Arts of Gold’s mission is to preserve the arts and culture of Congo. The annual Congolese Dance and Drum Festival, also known as Biamvu Bia Kongo (Bridges of Congo), aims to preserve the history of the cultural traditions of the people Congolese…
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Ginga Arts
Ginga Arts is a nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles that emowers underserved and at-risk youth by offering ongoing classes featuring the traditional Afro-Brazilian martial art of capoeira. Ginga Arts uses capoeria — part martial arts, part dance, part percussion, and part game — as an…
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Jun Daiko
Based in Mountain View, Jun Daiko practices and teaches the art of kumidaiko, or Japanese group drumming. In 2014, Jun Daiko received a grant from ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants Program to support a mentorship with master artist Kyosuke Suzuki. He will instruct…
Founded in 1991 by a group of Vietnamese American journalists, artists, and friends, the Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association is a community-based, nonprofit organization. VAALA has organized numerous cultural events such as art exhibitions, book fairs, book signings, recitals, plays, lectures, the biennial Vietnamese International…
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Tobaji Stewart
The batá is a sacred drum tradition originating among the Yoruba people of West Africa and brought to the New World during the slave trade era. Female in nature, the three two-headed drums played by three men activate a sacred language that communicates with the spirit world of the Orisha (or…
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Kiazi Malonga
Congolese Ngoma, Drumming
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Matsutoyo Sato
Minyo, or folk songs, have been passed down through the generations in the various regions of Japan. Many minyo originated from “commoners” – farmers, fisherman, housewives, and merchants – recounting their daily lives, their stories, and their hopes. Other minyo tell of religious, historical, or seasonal events. In the past,…
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Hiroyuki “Jimi” Nakagawa
The art of kumidaiko—ensemble drumming with the taiko, a traditional Japanese drum—was developed in post-World War II Japan in the 1950’s. Kumidaiko came to America in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, entering through the Japanese American communities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Jose. Hiroyuki “Jimi” Nakagawa has…
