Finding Her Beat: The Story of Queer Womxn Taiko Drummers You Didn’t Know You Longed For

Mixed Asian Media - September 5, 2023

By Ryan Cotter

What do you get when you bring together 18 of the best female and nonbinary taiko drummers in the world? A historic concert celebrating the passion, drive, and talent of these drummers in a male-dominated industry at one of the U.S.’s leading performance-arts venues. The inspiring story behind the development and execution of this concert and the cross-cultural found family formed among the performers is told in the 2023 documentary Finding Her Beat. Being a student in the Twin Cities, I was initially drawn to this film at this year’s Asian American International Film Festival to bask in the rare representation of the Twin Cities in film. However, I left the theater unexpectedly deeply moved by not only the resiliency of the performers and their dedication to their craft, but also the sheer power and joy of the performances and the sense of community between the HERbeat performers. 

Spanning 17 months, the film follows Jennifer Weir, the executive director of the Twin Cities-based taiko drumming company TaikoArts Midwest, as she leads the creation and execution of HERbeat while juggling raising her child with her wife and fellow taiko drummer, Megan Chao Smith. Jennifer and Megan co-conceptualized HERbeat, a taiko concert spotlighting some of the most skilled female and nonbinary taiko drummers in the world, over two decades ago alongside their longtime mutual friend and taiko master Tiffany Tamaribuchi. This concert is significant in that it’s the first of its kind, as historically taiko was an art form that women were excluded from participating in (with the exception of being an accompanying dancer or singer). Jennifer, Megan, and Tiffany recruited taiko drummers, dancers, and musicians for HERbeat from across the United States, Canada, and Japan, including artists such as Chieko Kojima and Kaoly Asano, who have founded their own prestigious taiko companies. With only two weeks to create the HERbeat show, the performers raced against the clock amid creative clashes and the imminent COVID-19 lockdown of 2020.

This was one of the most enjoyable films I watched this year. All of the performers and their dynamics with one another were incredibly fun and heartwarming to watch as their friendships deepened throughout the film, bonding over their shared experiences of being people of underrepresented genders and (for many of them) queer people in taiko, the discrimination they’ve faced for being too Asian (or not Asian enough for the mixed members), and the deep fulfillment and purpose taiko has brought them. The film’s core cast perfectly encapsulated the strengths of the entire collective: the infectious joy of Jennifer Weir (it was always super fun to see her watching her fellow performers onstage with a wide smile on her face, feeding off of their energy), the trailblazing resiliency of Megan Chao Smith, the beautiful genius of Chieko Kojima, the charismatic badassery of Tiffany Tamaribuchi, and the mesmerizing force of nature that is Kaoly Asano (whose incorporation of movement into her pieces, from her hair to her costumes, was breathtaking). I also appreciated the film’s unflinching honesty in capturing the highs and lows of creating the event, from the energizing, productive practice sessions to the performers collapsing on the floor in exhaustion and sickness, making Jennifer's persistent optimism, energy, and good-naturedness throughout the whole process all the more admirable. 

Furthermore, the cinematography did an incredible job capturing the exhilarating energy of the performances. As somebody who went into the film with very limited knowledge of and interest in taiko, I was surprised at how moved I was by the performances throughout the film, with each performance feeling timelessly impactful. The filmmakers and sound designers did a fantastic job capturing the absolute POWER behind the performances, with each drumbeat and yell booming like a crashing wave. Practically every single performance left me with goosebumps, and at the final number, I found myself brimming with happy tears. I left the theater with an adrenaline rush akin to if I’d seen the performances in person. It is no wonder Finding Her Beat has won the admiration of film festivals all across the country. 

While discussing the show’s direction, HERbeat performer Naomi Guilbert of the taiko group Fubuki Daiko asks, “Should the goal be to give the audiences what they think they want, or what they don’t know they long for?” Finding Her Beat absolutely delivers as a film that does the latter. It’s a powerful spotlight on the importance of womxn in taiko. This film is truly something that must be experienced to be appreciated. Finding Her Beat will have a limited theatrical run in September and October, and I implore you to go check it out. I hope it moves you to be a part of HERbeat’s collective beat as much as it did for myself. 

You can learn more about the film here.

Ryan is a student currently based in Washington (the state, not D.C.). She grew up as a third-culture kid in Hong Kong, Australia, and Singapore, and most recently has studied abroad in Denmark! She is a woman of many hats both literally and figuratively, as you can see her stage managing theatre productions, writing with her sketch comedy group, creating podcasts, and performing with her Asian diaspora dance group X-ertion among other places! She has also been a guest contributor for the Wall Street Journal. She is a passionate advocate for radical joy. You can spot her 3 miles away in her brightly colored outfits FaceTiming her mom, hanging with friends, or attending the latest play or drag show.