Student Artist-in-Residence Kay Evans presents: Kizuna
April 21, 2025 | Showing 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM (Doors open at 6:30 PM)
Address: Movement Lab, The Milstein Center LL020, 3009 Broadway, New York, NY 10027
Kizuna is a performance showcase featuring taiko, traditional Japanese drumming, in combination with projection and videography.
At this showcase’s core is the heartbeat: the first sound that we both hear and feel, a rhythm that connects us all in life. We connect not just through the physicality of drumming, but also through the shared experience of space, sight, and sound. From a single pulse to the thundering resonance of drums, Kizuna explores the connective power of taiko and celebrates the strong bonds within the taiko community.
Ultimately, Kizuna is a love letter to human connection.
Following the showcase, the audience is invited to stay, connect, and reflect on their experience with the performers.
To visit, please RSVP or contact us via email at movement@barnard.edu at least 24 hours before the event. We will coordinate your entry through the main entrance (3009 Broadway). Visitors with Barnard/Columbia IDs can walk in.
Capacity in the lab is capped at 40 audience members. Attendees who have RSVP'd before the event will have priority, and admission will be determined on a first come first serve basis on arrival. If you RSVP before the event but arrive late, we reserve the right to give your spot to someone on the waitlist.
Attendees who have not RSVP'd will be put on a standby waitlist if they arrive in person before the event.
Kay Evans (she/her) is a sophomore at Barnard pursuing a double major in Film & Media Studies and Psychology. Outside of the academic sphere, she is a dancer, actor, filmmaker, and artist with an increasing collection of interests as she moves through life. You might find her on her way to karate, the climbing gym, or more often than not, carrying drums across campus for taiko practices.
Kay has been an admirer of taiko for many years since she saw a rare performance of it in her hometown of Jackson, Wyoming, by Eitetsu Hayashi in 2011. She started practicing taiko in 2023 with Columbia Taiko. Through her residency at the Movement Lab, Kay is excited to use taiko and choreographed movement as mediums to play with and explore the intersections of Japanese tradition, artistic experimentation, and technology. She is interested in how traditional Japanese art forms like taiko drumming, which has deep roots in Japanese culture, can be pushed and evolved through technology while still honoring their origins. Inspired by immersive art installations that use reactive algorithms, she wants to create work that brings people into the experience, letting them engage with taiko in new, interactive ways. Her work aims to honor the tradition of taiko while pushing its boundaries, finding new expressions at the intersection of history and experimentation that will resonate in people’s hearts.