Youthful vitality and streetwise determination come together with explosive results in the drumming performances of the Jyou-tian Folk Arts Group. (Jimmy Lin)

A different sort of master leads a group of different teens--this bunch of junior-high dropouts, scooter-racing punks, drug users, ladies' club hosts, and ex-cons make up the Jyou-tian Folk Drum and Arts Group.

These marginalized kids who never cared for school found themselves rejected by their families, schools, and communities. Now, under the guidance of the deity Nezha the Third Prince, they are diligently applying themselves to the study of folk arts and taking the stage.

As the lights slowly come up on the stage, seven large drums begin to sound out a thunderous beat. Drummers with otherworldly facepaint lose themselves in the rhythm, occasionally letting out wild shouts. A fierce, explosive force spreads over the cold theater....

"They've got to shout," says Jyou-tian founder Hsu Chen-jung. At first, they wouldn't make a sound, then they'd let out a timid cry, but now they've gotten to the point where they can shout out all of the pain of their pasts and show their newfound vitality and pride.