Kay Evans

Kay (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.