2024 Wisconsin Eisa Group Photo

Wisconsin Eisa is a community organization in Madison, Wisconsin who performs eisa, Okinawan festival drumming. Eisa fuses Okinawan music, martial arts, dance, and drumming. The performers either play a large, barrel shaped drum (odaiko) which is worn by a sash over the shoulder, or a hand drum. The paranku, one of the hand drums, is small, round, and single faced. The shime-daiko is a two-faced hand drum tied together with rope, and is performed the most stylistically.

Wisconsin Eisa began in 1997 at Shorewood Hills Elementary School after founder Heidi Hastings moved with her family to the Madison school district. The eisa group followed her kids though school until it stuck as an after school club at Madison West High School. Over the years, around 300 students have participated in the group and have performed in hundreds of performances. The majority of Wisconsin Eisa's performances are in South Central Wisconsin, but since 2005 they have annually attended the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C.