Performance Schedule

VIP Schedule – September 7th

5:00 PM – Doors Open

6:00-6:30 PM – Indian Dance Show – Natyarpana Dance Company

6:30-7:10 PM – Matsuriza Japanese Drum Show (From Disney World)

7:10-8:00 PM – Ashura Ninja Show

Ninja ASHURA is a ninja corps that has clocked more than 1,200 action-packed performances at the Ninja Museum of Iga-ryu. Featuring shuriken, sword-fighting, and kusarigama (sickle-and-chain), the tremendous excitement of their stage shows will have you on the edge of your seat! 

8:00-8:30 PM – Photo Time with the Ninjas 

Festival Schedule – September 8th

TIMEAMPHITHEATER
10:15AM - 11:00AM Parade Begins & Heads to Amphitheater
11:10AM - 11:40AMConcert by Clayton - Bradley Academy
11:40AM - 12:00PMThailand Dance
12:00PM - 12:30PMChinese Dance & Martial arts
12:30PM - 1:00PM Wah Lum Kang Fu Dragon/Lion Dance
1:00PM - 1:20PM VIP Speech
1:20PM- 1:30PM Yosakoi Bushi
1:30PM - 2:10PM Ashura Ninjya Show, 4 Ninjas from Japan
2:10PM - 2:40PMNAFFAA- National Federation of Filipino American Association
2:40PM - 3:00PMKorean Fan Dancers
3:00PM - 3:30PM Bangladesh Students Association
3:30PM - 3:50PMPhillipine Local Group dance and music
3:50PM - 4:10PMNATANA MANOHARI SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTS (indian Dance)
4:10PM - 4:30PM Shamisen Knoxville with Mirai Kanai Eisa Taiko
4:30PM - 4:50PMMusei no Tora
4:50PM - 5:10PM Knox Kpop Galz
5:10PM - 5:30PMKnoxville Kendo Club
5:30PM - 6:00PMMatsuriza Taiko
TIMEPERFORMANCE LAWNFESTIVAL LAWN
11:30AM -12:00PMManthan (Indian) Dance KPDA - K-pop
12:00 PM - 12:30 PMZero GravityPhillipine's Music and Dance Group
12:30 PM - 1:00 PMMirai Kanai Eisa Taiko / Shamisen KnoxvilleNashville Taiko
1:00 PM - 1:30 PMAyushma Sharma,
Nepal Dance
Korean Dancers
1:30 PM - 2:00 PMPrismarine IdolsMatsuriza Japanese Drum
2:00 PM - 2:30 PMNashville TaikoBlossom Bouquet
2:30 PM - 3:00 PMBon OdoriWah Lum Kang Fu Lion Dance
3:00 PM - 3:30 PMAsian Fashion Show and Ballroom Dance Crimson Kings
3:30 PM - 4:00 PMKimono Show by Sachi EquiKnox
4:00 PM - 4:30 PMPoster Contest Awards (4PM-4:20PM)
Miss.Take (4:20PM - 4:30PM)
Chinese Performing Group
4:30 PM - 5:10 PMAshura Ninja show, 4 Ninjas from Japan
Cosplay Contest
5:10PM - 5: 30PM Photo time with NinjasCosplay Contest
5:30PM - 6PM Shamisen Knoxville with Shamisen Rakuya from JapanAlexia and the Alexandria Dancers

Performers

Matsuriza
A traditional Japanese Drum performance group from Disney World. Matsuriza means “festival” in Japanese. “Taiko” means drum. The principles of Matsuriza are “Shin” (to develop pure spirit), “Gi” (improve skills), “Tai” (keep healthy body) and “Rei” (observe proper decorum). As in many Oriental philosophies, “mind and body” are important for a man’s whole well-being. Matsuriza Japanese Taiko Drummers build focus; develop a habit of caring for each other in teamwork; shape up by building physical strength; and communicate without words but through sounds and minds.

Zero Gravity

A soloist space jester idol, specializing in dancing and performing, I’ve performed at MTAC, Akaicon, and Yamacon. My performances focus on telling the story of Zero Gravity but also focus on dancing and engaging with the audience.

Prismarine Idols

Prismarine Idols is an aqours cosidol group based in East TN!! We’ve preformed at well known cons all across East Tennessee and we’d love to perform here! We have nine members in our group and we dance primarily to j-pop music!

Ig: @prismarine.idols

Mirai Kanai Eisa Taiko

We are a chapter of the nonprofit organization Atlanta Okinawa Kenjin Kai.  Our group performs Eisa taiko, which originated in Okinawa, Japan.  Eisa taiko is a combination of dance and drumming with small and large taiko drums.  The movements have evolved from karate forms.  It is traditionally performed during the Bon festival to honor the spirits of our ancestors.  We have been performing Eisa taiko in the Southeast United States for more than 15 years.

Shamisen Knoxville 

Shamisen is a traditional 3-string musical instrument from Japan. Our members consist of UT students and people from the community.  We have been spreading the joy of playing the banjo-like instrument at festivals and events in the Southeast region.  We offer hands-on experiences to people of all ages.

This year we are very happy to collaborate again with Mirai Kani Eisa Taiko from Atlanta.  Also, we are excited to perform together with Shamisen Rakuya from Japan. The owner of the shop, Mr. Takuya Hamatani, is the one who created the affordable mini cardboard shamisen which is becoming increasingly popular globally.  He plays all kinds of shamisen, from Okinawan sanshin to Tsugaru shamisen.    

Another great news is that some children with Indonesian heritage are learning to play shamisen, while we are learning to play their instrument Angklung.  We’ll play both Japanese and Indonesian songs from 12:45pm on Performance Lawn Stage.

Yosakoi East TN

We are Japanese fisherman dance team which is composed by mainly UTK students and ETSU students. We performed at the Nashville Cherry Blossom festival with over 50 members. This team was made by 2 JOI coordinator, one of them is based in Knoxville, and another in Johonson city. They aim to promote the awarness and understanding of Japan through performing and teaching Japanese traditional fisherman dance, “Yosakoi so-ranbushi”. The audience will enjoy their vibrant and energetic performance.

NAFFAA- National Federation of Filipino American Association

Philippines. Cultural dance and arts, wardrobe, immigrations, pageantry, civic engagement. We will be having our National award-winning cultural dancers. We will have beauty queens with sashes. We will have a booth set up at our area with an immigration lawyer to assist all. We will also have our national leaders from all over the US to come represent our organization.

Nashville Taiko

Nashville Taiko is Tennessee’s first taiko group. The ensemble aims to enrich the music scene of Tennessee and beyond with a celebration of diversity grounded in traditional Japanese drumming and infused with innovation and diverse international perspectives. We are devoted to sharing joy of Taiko through education and nurturing new talents, artistic development, and community performances. Our efforts aim to build a robust Taiko community, embracing tradition and innovation, music and movement, to foster a sense of belonging, ignite creativity, and contribute to individual well-being and community cohesion. Nashville Taiko commenced in late 2023 with its initial core members having experience performing with predecessor groups around the country. Since forming, we have performed at the Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival, the TN Asian and Pacific Islander festival, and are slated to perform in various other events in 2024. We now have 15 steady members playing with us on a weekly basis, growing new talent and expanding our performance repertoire.

Blossom Bouquet

We are an Asian Pop idol group based in Middle Tennessee. Modeling after Asian idol groups, we are an 8-member idol group inspired by fairy folk-lore and flower meanings. Our members today, Sunny, a sunflower fairy who originally didn’t fit in, but found her place with her friends, Lilac, a runaway princess who decided to chase after her own happiness, Nymphie, a country water lily fairy following her dreams, no matter what anyone else says, Marigold, who once was alone, but now has a group that adores her, Felicia, a daisy fairy, who finds that being different isn’t all that bad, Lily, a Lily of the Valley fairy who is learning how to be in tune with her emotions and live for herself, Rosalie, a Rose fairy here to have a good time with her friends (and stay out of trouble, and Hibiscus, a manager at an famous bar, who loves performing alongside her friends!

Together we are Blossom Bouquet!

Crimson Kings

Hello! We are Crimson Kings! We are a southeastern dance cover group that specializes in performing from male J-Pop idol franchises and anime franchises. We dress up as the characters we dance from and try to recreate their performances on stage. We were established as a group in 2022 and have been performing all over the southeast from here in TN to all the way to Florida. There are three of us that complete the trio for the group.

Bangladesh Students Association, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

We are an official student organization of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. We are from Bangladesh, a small, beautiful country located in South Asia. We have a rich culture of thousand years old. We have our own collection of dance, music, and stories. Knox Asian Festival is a unique opportunity to engage and show our culture in the US. We had participated in this program before and are very thrilled to participate again.

Knoxville Kendo Club

We would like to perform a kendo demonstration at the festival as we did at the past Asian Festivals. We also performed kendo at local schools, University of Tennessee, and international events. Kendo is a Japanese martial art of sword fencing. A Kendo Club in east Tennessee was originally established and led by Maeda-sensei (7-dan) at the Tennessee Meiji Gakuin (TMG) High School in Sweetwater. Since TMG was closed and Maeda-sensei moved to Florida in 2007, the Kendo Club was relocated to Knoxville and renamed Knoxville Kendo Club (KKC). Hyun-sensei (7-dan) is currently leading the club. KKC and UT Martial Art Club hosted the SEUSKF Championship and Promotional Test in 2010 and 2016. The club won first place at the 2015 SEUSKF Championship. We have nearly 20 active members and practice every Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. More information can be found on our website knoxvillekendo.online. Anybody interested in Kendo, please contact [email protected].

Knox KPop Galz
There are 8 girls dancing on the stage. We will dance and introduce all of the members and studio information. After that, I will teach the audience how to dance one easy K-Pop song and I want the audience to dance with us!

ENISHI Sachi 

Kimono show

Before coming to the United States, Sachi Uemoto Groves pursued her love of Japanese culture by participating in kimono fashion shows and pursuing the art of tea ceremony during performances in Japan. Now, she works to promote these iconic aspects of Japanese culture here in Tennessee. Learn more about her mission and how she uses her company 縁ENISHI to bring Japan to everyone’s community.

Website enishijapan.com

Instagram ID enishi_sachi

Natyarpana

We are an institution that provides instruction in Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music (Dance & Music forms of South India) through private & group lessons as well as outreach programs in schools and colleges across North Carolina and Tennessee. Bharatanatyam is a codified form of the original “Sathir” dance that became prevalent in the post-colonial period in South India. As first-generation immigrants, we use story-telling and dance theater to connect to our rich heritage while making it accessible and relevant to the current generations.

Ayushma Sharma

I am a solo dance performer from Nepal. I have multiple experiences of stage performances in traditional Nepalese cultural dance. I am an engineer by profession and I dance as a hobby. I have performed my traditional Nepali dance in various events including the 10th Knox Asian Festival. As last year was my first few months here In Knoxville, I didn’t have much time to prepare for the performance, however, I have been very encouraged by everyone’s reaction after that performance and want to take it to the next level this time. I believe that I am one of the first few Nepalese to perform here in Knoxville and this would be a wonderful opportunity for everyone to know more about the country and our culture.

Bambini Bubbles

Host the ultimate bubble dance party. We offer an immersive play  experience that I believe can highlight the playful side of Asian culture. We celebrate Kawaiia Japanese Cute Culture.

EquiKnox

EquiKnox is a K-Pop dance cover group based in Knoxville, TN.

Chinese Performance Group

Chinese performance group will present a captivating lineup of performances that showcase the rich tapestry of tradition and   innovation. From the rich heritage of Chinese martial arts, mesmerizing dances that blend ancient rhythms with modern movements to soul-stirring melodies that echo tales of love and resilience, our stage is set to transport you to the vibrant world of China. With 6-8 dynamic groups, we have been integral to the local arts scene for many years, captivating audiences at regional and local festivals.

Musei Tora Bujinkan

Musei Tora Bujinkan is a collection of war-time based samurai methods predating contemporary martial arts. The primary study is on taijutsu, a study of natural movement of the body which can then be incorporated into armor and use of weapons.

Clayton-Bradley Strings

We are a 7th-12th grade orchestra. We have around 50 students in this group. We have played the past two years for your opening ceremony/parade and we would love to be involved again.

Miss.Take

Miss take is a Knoxville K-pop and HipHop dance crew. They have performed at many events like Knoxville’s Chocolate Fest, Bike walk, and Hollerpalooza. When This sister Group hits the stage they Give a energetic, fun, and Overall entertaining different experience. The Members of the Dance crew include Starr, the youngest member, who is a Superstar inspired by k-pop along with Japanese idols. The second member is Redd, the oldest member, who is a trendsetter inspired by K-pop, all music genres , and dance. Miss take would like to welcome all of you to join together to have a experience you won’t forget.

Knox Asian Fest Cosplay Contest!

My friends and I hosted the cosplay contest at Knox asian fest last year! We’re excited to come back again this year for another craftsmanship-based contest! We had a wonderfully successful show last year filled with lots of talent, and we already have lots of plans for improving the show this year!

Alexia and the Alexandria Dancers

We are a Middle Eastern Dance Group specializing in Egyptian style belly dance, along with fusion, and lyrical with props such as cymbals, veils, fan veils, and wings. We perform every year at the Rossini festival, UT international festival, and Arab Festival. Also, TV appearances and Performances every year at Mirage Restaurant.

NATANA MANOHARI SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTS

Our school represents the 2 Indian Classical dance forms—Bharatha natyam and Kuchipudi. I have had over 40 years of Learning, performing and teaching. We will approximately have 10 to 12 Performers. We have performed for many organizations both at local, state levels in the USA. My students have won many competitions. We have also raised funds through our performances for many charity organizations. Since moving to Knoxville 8 years ago Bhavani tries to present her students in many different cultural shows per year in Knoxville. She has (through her students and her own daughter who is also a professional dancer) given many programs for charities and raised funds for many of them such as Aim for Seva, Asha for Education, Mirani Foundation of Knoxville, Haiti Earthquake Fund, TIWA organization which raised funds for Girls and Boys Scout, March of Dimes, American Red Cross, etc. Some of these programs (the ones with her daughter Ranjania’s solo programs) and other students)  have been done with live orchestra of musicians in which Bhavani herself did the Nattuvangam (reciting rhythmic patterns for the dancer by playing cymbals). Bhavani was the main person in charge of these free and ticked programs. Bhavani has given performances in many parts of USA such as Florida, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Chicago, Tennessee, Toronto, Windsor, Montreal, Canada, Jamaica, West Indies, etc. I received the South Artist Fellowship Grant in 2021. Ranjani her daughter received same Grant in 2019.

Atlanta Korean Cultural Center (AKCC)

Atlanta Korean Cultural Center (AKCC) is a non-profit organization with a mission centered around education, engagement, and empowerment. We’re all about connecting communities and sharing the vibrant aspects of Korean culture and traditions. Our goal is to create a community that values both preserving our rich history and embracing new expressions for the present. Through performing arts, we weave together the threads of Korea’s diverse heritage, teaching and showcasing traditional Korean costumes, dances, and instruments.

Fan Dance – This modernized style of Korean traditional dance is called “Buchae choom”. This dance is a beautiful synchronization of each dancer, capturing the elegance and fluidity of a blossoming flower. Keep a close eye on the performance, and you’ll witness the precision of movements representing the gracefulness of flower blossoms, butterflies, and the rhythmic waves. It’s a visual journey into the timeless beauty and cultural richness of Korea.

Sword Dance – Also known as “Geommu”, this dance is performed with special costumes, dance moves, and music. The dance is known for its grace in performance. Extra emphasis is put on the movement of the costuming, notably the sleeves, in harmony with the movement of the dancer. The sword is a short replica blade with rings.