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I can't believe that I went to two dance shows in four days, and I'm not even a dancer. This was the better of the two--innovative, imaginative and fun on both sides of the lights.
We wait for the opening with an obviously high tech tap floor on an open stage. Then Dein Perry, the creator and choreographer of the show, begins the production with a solo that demonstrates that he dances with his whole body, not just his black slip-on tap boots. Next in the first chorus, we see only their feet, the rest of their bodies screened. It is here that the tone of good clean fun is set, and the audience responds with glee. This is an 80-minute roller coaster ride of primal macho dance without intermission, no costuming to distract, no Fred Astaire spats, no Gene Kelly white sox and loafers, just the ever-present Tap Dog tap boots.
The hard metal set, an Swiss Army knife of sorts, provides the structure of the production, where the dancers transform each sub-set to music ala 'Le Miz'. From an 8' by 8' square tap floor to two 8x8 side surfaces and a central inclined tap floor for the next number. Then the central surface splits jaggedly in two, leaving the dancers to straddle dance down the incline. The next number involves a duo with one dancer trussed upside down to tap against a ceiling, matched by his counterpart below. So on, and so forth--each number full of energy and creativity.
The final set changes to scaffolding, where the Tap Dogs show their Australian steel-town background with metal grinders working steel pegs in time to their feet. The multi-level scaffolding and planking allows for an end-on chorus line reminescent of a multi-armed Siamese god, and then, a tap-dancing dragon. Finally, to the moment that we had been waiting for, especially the front row orchestra and their plastic panchos. A tribute to Gene Kelly's "Singin' in the Rain", dancing in rain boots in a water trough.
The lighting was comparable to 'Starlight Express'. The live 2-man accompaniment was complementary to the Tap Dogs' beat.
The multi-generational audience, though many dancers, or parents of dancers, unanimously loved these talented men from down under. The standing ovation brought the Tap Dogs back for an encore number. The Phoenix gig was halfway through their 13-city tour which will include New York City in early 1997.
Tap Dogs
October 16-20, 1996
Union Hall
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