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A whole lotta tappin' going on
Tappers With Attitude heat up stages near and far
by Robin Tierney
Photos by Julie Wiatt
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Eric Lewis takes the old show biz saw "the show must go on" very seriously. When his group, Silver Spring-based Tappers With Attitude Youth Ensemble, danced at Montgomery Mall, his girlfriend's girlfriends came to check him out. Upon busting a cool move, the scene was punctuated by the distinctive sound of ripping fabric - his pants split in two.
"Since we were in a mall, I went and got another pair of pants." Then in the second act, "the same thing happened. RIP!" Eric, 17, took it in stride. After all, rips happen when putting your body and soul into your work.
Dedication to dance surrounded the senses as Tappers With Attitude (TWA) rehearsed for "TapRoots: The Next Generation," their recent show at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage. They practice on the sprung maple floors of Knock On Wood Studio in downtown Silver Spring, filling the space with thundering rhythm and awing onlookers with lightning-fast footwork. The 30-member ensemble exemplifies diversity: male, female, ages 10 to 18, various cultural backgrounds. They perform on average twice monthly at venues that include Silver Spring parades, Wolf Trap, Carter Barron and the New York City Tap Festival.
Juggling school, extracurricular activities and their passion for dance, the tappers look forward to their 15-year anniversary extravaganza on June 10 at University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Highlights include the return of TWA alumni, appearances by two of the company's favorite choreographers, Germaine Ingram and Lane Alexander, and the world debut of Alexander's dazzling West Side Story suite. TWA has been working on the suite's complex step routines for four years; it should be a stunner.
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Founded in 1991 by local dance legends Yvonne Edwards and Renee Kreithen, TWA taps on the cutting edge of percussive dance. Under the direction of Victoria Moss, a Chicago transplant with four decades of dance and education experience, TWA fosters a new generation to carry on the brush, flap, shuffle, ball change and other steps of this rhythm-driven art that evolved in the early 1800s from English clog dance, Irish solo step dance and African dance styles brought to America.
The company presents works by nationally known choreographers such as Barbara Duffy and Josh Hilberman, commissions new routines by emerging talents, and encourages creativity among TWA dancers. As a result, TWA has earned kudos, awards and grants. |
Says Silver Springer Debbie Duel, whose daughter Natalie is one of the younger members, the teen hoofers create a synchronized tap sound with their own unique rhythmic signature. "They are a tight circle of friends who encourage each other to experiment." Since six of the youth ensemble's members are graduating high school seniors, the tap fan describes this season as "bittersweet."
"We've had the incredible opportunity to have master classes with so many masters of tap," says 17-year-old Toby Shepard, recalling a session with Broadway hoofer Michelle Dorrance. "We get to find our own styles." Some dances are graceful and measured, with the performers light on their feet. "Others are more Savion-style, hard and loud into the floor, more rhythmic and funky." She's referring to Savion Glover, known for "hitting," a pounding tap style.
"I'm looking at colleges near cities because it's easier to continue dance in an metropolitan area," says Toby. It will be hard to leave her friends at TWA, but she's found that "wherever you go, there's always someone in the tap community ready to help."
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After watching the Gregory Hines film Tap with his grandfather --quite a hoofer himself --Justin Lewis, then age five, taped nickels to the soles of his shoes and started to dance. Eleven years later, Justin (no relation to Eric) is still inspired by the late giant of tap - "an amazing dancer with such expression on his face when he dances and very clean feet." |
Tapping their son's talent early on, Justin's parents enrolled him in lessons at Knock On Wood. Among his favorite memories is a performance at DC's Dance Place - a last-chance gig with the graduating seniors getting ready to leave the troupe. They choreographed a special piece to Michael Jackson's Blood on the Dance Floor. "I really had the time of my life on that stage during that piece ... it was powerful and we put a lot of time and effort into making it," reflects Justin. "The guys of this company are like my brothers and I knew that we would be sharing the floor to dance this piece one last time."
TWA practices twice a week at its home base, Knock on Wood. With three state-of-the-art tap studios, the nonprofit arts organization offers classes for ages four through adult, from beginner through advanced. The young and gifted Tappers With Attitude dancers welcome a new generation to inspire - and new tap fans to entertain.
For more information about Tappers with Attitude, visit www.KnockOnWood.org
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