Suzuyuki Kai

SUZUYUKI-KAI, TRADITIONAL JAPANESE DANCE （日本舞踊寿々由紀会）

In 1984, Mari Kaneta（兼田真理）established first Japanese Dance class in Tucson. She studied and trained with the prominent Classical Japanese Dance School in Los Angeles, and received her degree and dancing name SUZUYUKI（寿々由紀）in 1973. While in Los Angeles, she actively participated in events such as Disneyland’s Japan Week for 10 years, Nisei Week Parade in Little Tokyo for 20 years and many more.

Since moving to Tucson in 1984, she has actively participated in community cultural events in Tucson and Phoenix, such as Tucson Meet Yourself, Family Arts Festival, Children’s Museum, Phoenix Matsuri and many more. She performed and held workshops at various schools in Arizona. She also performed at the Nordstrom’s Fashion Show in Scottsdale. She also performed internationally at the World Karate Championship Exhibition in Caracas, Venezuela and at a grand opening of a company in Mexico.

In March of 1996, she participated as choreographer and a dancer for the Arizona Opera Company’s staging of “Madama Butterfly.” Since then, she has been involved in fund raisers for the Arizona Opera Guild. On November 10, 2002, she directed a Traditional Japanese Dance concert at Leo Rich Theatre (TCC) to celebrate 30 years of dancing. She continues to be very active in the community by participating in charity and fund raising events.

SUZUYUKI-KAI MōGAN DAIKO（寿々由紀会猛巖太鼓）Formerly known as TAIKOZA

The group was established in spring of 2002 to perform with the Mari Kaneta Suzuyuki-Kai Traditional Japanese Dance group. All members of the Taikoza are formerly from the MōGan Daiko led by Stanley Morgan. Unfortunately, illness disabled him to lead the group in 2002, and members Kenji Azeka, Mari Kaneta and Kristina McLaughlin got together to continue what Mr. Morgan has started here in Tucson. Currently, Mr. Morgan is active member of the group as an Advisor and we now have new members, Nick Ballinger, Kazuma Sambe and Shelly Yoneda, with us.

Stanley Morgan first founded the MōGan Daiko in 1976 in Los Angeles, California and in 1986 in Tucson, Arizona. His great inspiration to pursue taiko first came from witnessing of well known “Sukeroku Daiko” in Tokyo, Japan in 1967 and also from his association with the Kinnara Daiko of Senshin Buddhist Church in Los Angeles in 1969. Through instructions of Rev. Mas Kodani, he learned how to make the taiko from wine barrels and made most of the taiko used by the group. In April 2007, group changed its name to MōGan Daiko to carry on the legacy of Stanley Morgan.

The Suzuyuki-Kai continues to perform its Japanese dancing and taiko drumming in hopes that it will expose, to the audience, another culture and may lead to a better appreciation of Asian cultures.