Amidst the blue-lit backdrop and 800 occupied seats of the Capitol Arts Center, a solitary woman stood center stage behind a drum half her size.

Her first strike on the instrument resonated, relieving the year-long anticipation of Western’s final Cultural Enhancement Series performance of the school year – “Taikoproject: (re)generation.”

Taikoproject is a Los Angeles-based ensemble of taiko drummers that strives to entertain and inform by infusing the rich Japanese history of its art with contemporary innovation. Originally, taiko drums were used to awaken and motivate Japanese troops during feuds. The group maintains the ancient “big drum,” blending its sound with modern music genres such as jazz, rock and hip-hop.

A flute merged with the rhythm as a man stepped onto the stage, followed by the gradual accumulation of seven other drummers, collectively electrifying the air.

“When we play free, play with feeling . something comes alive,” said Bryan Yamami, Taikoproject performer.

The group cycled through 15 acts that included slideshows, lights, costumes, dance and an array of drums and other percussion instruments. Each act transitioned with short videos reflecting on the traditions of taiko or memoirs of the performers’ journeys into the art form.

Minimally clad in a traditional fundoshi, Japanese loincloth, a man played the o-daiko, a 5-foot, 330-pound drum later in the performance. Each of his muscles’ movements reverberated in the giant drum as he beat it.

“The energy was phenomenal,” Bowling Green freshman Magnolia Gramling said. “I had high expectations, and it was one of the best performances I’ve seen.”

Shadow projections on the wall danced in unison with the drummers as they leaped through the air. They pounded each other’s instruments and prompted the crowd to join in, chanting “ie-ya-sat-a.”

“Music should be a part of everyday life,” Taikoproject performer Masato Baba said. “[It's about] creating, sharing, evolving.”

Fresh from a performance at the 81st annual Academy Awards, the troop holds a resume that includes advertisements for Nike and Mitsubishi as well as appearances on Kanye West’s “Glow in the Dark Tour” and the first foreign-won Tokyo International Taiko Contest.

Western’s cultural enhancement board brings a grassroots music group to campus each year to immerse students in traditional music from different cultures, according to David Lee, member of the board and dean of Potter College. Past acts have included Malian kora player Mamadou Diabate, and banjo musicians, The Carolina Chocolate Drops.

“This ranks with the most successful performances in our roots music series,” he said.

Before performing the encore, Yamami gave the audience this advice: “A fool dancing, a fool watching.”