Michelle Miles is coordinator of the Waikato Taiko (Drummers) Club, which she started with Lianne Stephenson in 2000. Michelle and Lianne got together to develop the Taiko Club for Waikato University students interested in playing Taiko through the East Asian Studies Department. They had both played Taiko before in Japan. Michelle studied Japanese at Hamilton Girl's High School for 5 years, hosted a Japanese student for one year, and participated in a one-year school exchange to Kyoto Tachibana Girl's High School. This is where Michelle was first introduced to Taiko. Michelle furthered her Japanese Studies at the University of Waikato and gained level 2 in the Japanese Language Proficiency Certificate. She has completed a four-year Bachelor of Science and Technology Degree with a double major in Japanese and Biology. She would like to be in a job that utilises her Japanese language ability but has yet to find the right combination of Japanese and Science.

Michelle says she enjoyed studying Japanese because, "I learnt to say things to communicate what I want and how I feel". Michelle has made Japanese friends in the Waikato Taiko Club and also had the pleasure of old school friends visiting her from Kyoto recently. Michelle wishes she could go back to Japan one day because of places like Hokkaido that she has still yet to visit.

The Waikato Taiko Club has practises on Mondays and beginner's classes on Wednesdays with an average of two paid performances a month. Michelle says there is a lot of demand for them to perform at University Club days, Asian Festivals, Auckland Arts Festival, Summer Festivals and the Big Day Out. They even played at the premier of "The Last Samurai" in Taranaki during 2004.

(compiled by Lorina Quill, 2004)