Eth-Noh-Tec Asian myth storyteller for school assemblies - Arts For Learning Massachusetts
ARTISTS

ARTISTS

Eth-Noh-Tec

Type: Performance, Remote
Art Form: Storytelling & ELA
Grade Level: K - 12

Eth-Noh-Tec is a kinetic storytelling company based in San Francisco that is at once precision choreography, lyrical word-weaving, graceful, playful and poetic. By layering ancient Asian mythologies, folktales and Asian urban legends with Asian American sensibilities, Eth-Noh-Tec has created an exciting new blend of movement-based storytelling.

Founding member Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo travels to Massachusetts each Spring to perform Eth-Noh-Tec stories for school assemblies. Robert has trained and performed in traditional and contemporary art forms for over two decades. He has since enjoyed tremendous success in this focused fusion, truly meeting the goals of the name Eth-Noh-Tec: The weaving [tec] together of distinctive cultural elements of the East and West [eth] to create new possibilities [noh].

Growing up in the late 60′s with a Japanese and Filipino American heritage, Robert was provided with a rich cultural environment from which to explore the creation of an Asian American identity. His music background as a songwriter and composer, his interest and talents in Asian ethnic music, dance and theater, and his innate comedic ability merged with his social and political philosophy to place Robert in the exciting art form of storytelling. Synthesizing the spoken word with kinetic sensibilities, interlacing music to create interludes and atmosphere, and engaging his audiences into playful participation, integrates all of the elements Robert values for conveying his philosophy through performance.

Robert’s accolades include composing film scores for such notable Asian American filmmakers as Wayne Wang (“Chan is Missing” and “Eat a Bowl of Tea”) and Felicia Lowe (“Carved in Silence”). His musical expertise also includes performing and songwriting on recordings for such Asian American bands such as “Yokohama, California,” “Bamboo Brew,” and “The Noh Buddies.”

As pioneer and master teacher of Kulintang gong music in Northern California, Robert fathered the Kulintang movement and founded the groups “Kalilang” and the “San Francisco Kulintang Ensemble.” The California Arts Council, Zellerbach Family Fund, and the National Endowment for the Arts/Folk Arts Program are a few of the eminent grants Robert has received. He was acknowledged with a SF Izzy Award and in 1999, he was the recipient of the National Young Audiences “Artist of the Year.”

Programs Offered

Eth-Noh-Tec performs stories from China, Japan and Korea for school cultural arts assemblies