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TAP DOGS: unexpected surprises, playful antics
One might not associate basketballs, power saws and rubber work boots with tap dancing, but that is exactly what the TAP DOGS, performing at Lied Center last week, delivered. The six male dancers of the troupe continuously demonstrated their precision and strength throughout the non-stop show, eliciting gasps, laughs, and overwhelming applause from the audience.
One might not associate basketballs, power saws and rubber work boots with tap dancing, but that is exactly what the TAP DOGS, performing at Lied Center last week, delivered. The six male dancers of the troupe continuously demonstrated their precision and strength throughout the non-stop show, eliciting gasps, laughs, and overwhelming applause from the audience.
TAP DOGS is the brainchild of Olivier Award-winning choreographer Dein Perry. The show started with six guys from a steel town north of Sydney, Australia, Perry, designer/director Nigel Triffitt, and composer Andrew Wilkie. Perry decided to create a contemporary show around his industrial experience with his Newcastle tap dancing mates. TAP DOGS was the instant hit of the Sydney Theatre Festival where it had its world premiere in January 1995 - it caused an equal sensation at the Edinburgh Festival later that year. TAP DOGS has gone in to win 11 International Awards including a Pegasus Award at the Spoleto Festival in Italy and an Obie in New York.
Beginning with a soloist performing intricate sounds in the darkness, TAP DOGS got bigger and better as it progressed into creative plays on props and scenery. Other cast members entered showing off their feet and humor with a comical section where the shoes performed a chorus line of sorts before the curtain finally rose to reveal their owners. The group tapped on multiple surprising surfaces, including ladders, metal, and water, and one dancer even tapped hanging upside down.
I felt that one of the most impressive sections was a percussion ensemble played with the tappers' feet on programmed sound pads, which displayed the group's great musicality along with their superb tap skills. Another memorable work was a nerve-wracking piece where all the dancers leapt between two jagged boards, performing complicated feet movements the entire time. The seemingly inevitable disaster kept the audience members perched on the edge of their seats - but of course, never actually happened.
Each cast member had numerous opportunities to demonstrate their personal skills. While this was engaging and astounding to watch (and hear), the ensemble shined the brightest when they were moving in sync with perfect rhythm. Seeing and hearing several tappers maintaining sharp, clear sounds at a fast pace is always quite impressive, especially with these talented tappers - their sounds, both solo and in unison, were very clear and high-quality.
True to their workaday 'steel' roots, the men were also true entertainers, often clowning around and teasing each other. The tone of the show was very casual and the dancers often chatted back and forth to each other on stage.
Although the music sometimes overpowered the more subtle sounds, the visual stimulation kept the show interesting despite the occasional loss of taps. Although comical at first, the clowning around shtick got a bit tired, but again this did little to bring down the quality. Overall, TAP DOGS was a creative and impressive demonstration of the tap genre that kept the audience tapping their feet along with them until the curtain closed.
REVIEW:
Lied Center of KU
Dein Perry's TAP DOGS
Wednesday, November 14, 2009
Lied Center of Kansas
1600 Stewart Avenue, Lawrence, KS
For tickets call 785-864-2787 or online at www.lied.ku.edu
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