Chicago Tap Theatre's "Tidings of Tap!"
If you’re tired of the same old holiday entertainment, Chicago Tap Theatre has a show for you! Come see why hundreds of Chicago families have made “Tidings of Tap!” their new holiday tradition. Featuring rhythm and whimsy-filled interpretations of your favorite Christmas, Chanukah and Winter songs, this is a fun yet sophisticated, family-friendly evening that you’ll be talking about all year!
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Chicago Tap Theatre 'Tidings of Tap"
By Sid Smith
There's always a multitude of holiday programming outside "The Nutcracker," but, in dance, few have shown the persistence of "Tidings of Tap!", Chicago Tap Theatre's un-Nutcracker array, now in its seventh year and returning Friday through Sunday to the UIC Theatre.
When asked about what first led to launching the program, artistic director Mark Yonally says he was motivated by diversity--but not so much by the stylistic diversity of incorporating his more populist art. His first instincts actually involved embracing religious variety.
"I remember thinking that in a city this big, it was disappointing that there were no holiday dance shows geared specifically to embracing a range of religions," Yonally recalls. It wasn't so much that "The Nutcracker" and ballet meant a formal monopoly; there's plenty of tap already in the Rockettes' production, which has been visiting the Chicago area frequently in recent seasons.
"But even the Rockettes, which provide a great spectacle, end on a heavy religious and Christmas note," Yonally points out. "We wanted a holiday show that included Hanukah and in general would be open to all audiences."
Early on, a piece to a fairly obscure klezmer tune was an important part of the line-up, and, for four years now, the program has also featured a dance to "Hava Nagila."
This year there's a brand new entry in that vein, entitled "Hope," by ensemble veteran Kendra Jorstad, "a beautiful piece, and a moving one, to 'Hatikvah,' the national anthem of Israel," Yonally says.
And in a loving nod to his competition down the Eisenhower at the Auditorium Theatre, "The Nutcracker," which, of course, plays in multiple productions at other far-flung venues as well, for the second year Yonally is including the ensemble's own five-minute "Nutcracker," a version flush with hip hop and beat boxing.
"There are two beat boxers and five dancers, who reference iconic tunes from the ballet by means of a capella tap rhythms evoking the Tchaikovsky," Yonally says. "We've decided to open the show with it this year as a means of making a statement. As in, 'This is what you'd typically see. Now, here's our version.'"
He's also touting a new piece called "The First Snowflake" and boasting a brief narrative. "We like to tell stories in our pieces, and this one is about snowflakes waiting in the clouds, looking down and working up the courage to actually fall. The first jumps by himself, alone for a while, blown by the wind, and sad until the others start to follow."
An audience favorite, "Carol of the Bells A Capella," will be back.
Like "Nutcracker" for the ballet set, "Tidings" is a program that appeals to family audiences. "I'd say 60 to 75 percent of the fans are families," Yonally says. But the troupe strives to maintain appeal to adult dance fans, too. "It's important that the show have a sophisticated feel for any adults who come," he says. "There are moments that are contemplative and thoughtful. This year, we'll also have a live band for two of the pieces."
In its eight years, Chicago Tap has been of those organizations that nudged the tap revival and found new modes of expression for this classic American art. Yonally says the past few years have been tough economically--but inspiring in some ways, too.
"It has been especially hard to see the effect our economy has had on our patrons," he says. "Individual donations have been down for every non-profit organization. But it's also inspiring that a lot of them, rather than shrinking or cutting programming, are trying to be more aggressive and donate tickets so that audiences can still keep coming.
"That's a big part of our philosophy," Yonally continues. "Art doesn't just belong to the rich."
"Tidings of Tap!" plays at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 10 and 11, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 12 at the UIC Theatre, 1044 W. Harrison St. For tickets: 800-838-3006 or www.brownpapertickets.com.
Chicago Tap Theatre "Tidings of Tap"
By Laura Molzahn:
Spreading good cheer? Check. Bringing together folks of different ages and religious persuasions? Check. Doing it all so well that nobody minds the cold? Check.
Unfortunately, a busted heater at the U.I.C. Theater on Friday night meant that everyone at "Tidings of Tap!" was cold – but there was enough goodwill coursing through the place that I could ignore my chilly toes. Chicago Tap Theatre's G-rated, secular, inclusive annual holiday show, a mix of old and new pieces running through Sunday, works for tap-oholics and dance newbies alike.
Artistic director Mark Yonally, who choreographed most of the works on the program, has never been afraid to cross the line into loopy kitsch. At the same time, there's something tidy and cheerful and very midwestern (he's from Kansas) about his vision. Over the company's eight years he's become known for his tap operas: "Masque of the Red Death" was based on Edgar Allan Poe, "Little Dead Riding Hood" on the fairy tale, you get the idea. And "Tidings of Tap!" has some of the same innocent strangeness.
Yonally works hard to make this program of 14 short dances cohesive and entertaining. "Name That Tune" interludes between some of the numbers keep the energy high, as individual dancers tap out a cappella renditions of holiday songs, challenging the audience to recognize them (usually in just a few beats) and sing along (everyone else is doing it, so ... ).
These interludes also prepare the audience for Yonally's a cappella numbers for all 12 company members, "Hava Nagila" and "Carol of the Bells." In these flippant, fun, ingenious dances, the dancers sometimes pass the beat-out "notes" of the songs from one to another in short bursts of one or two taps apiece. They're like kids playing with each other and the music, varying their speed and volume - an approach that honors tap's traditional eccentricity, creativity, and humor.
Other works bounce even further off the wall. In Yonally's new "BeatCracker," dancers Richard Ashworth and Phil Brooks take over a mic and start beat-boxing music from Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker," mixing in occasional samples of rap. Turns out the five dancers are considerably more inspired by the hip-hop beats than those chestnuts of ballet - though whatever the music, they just keep tapping. Yonally's odd duet "Baby, It's Cold Outside" could have been steamy given the song. But he makes himself a door-to-door salesman and the delicious Jennifer Pfaff a housewife more interested in his vacuum cleaner than romance. The jokey "Best.Gift.Ever" might be of interest only to Wii aficionados.
Yonally does best when movement is at least as important as concept. And he ends the show with a bang - a trifecta of energetic dances. "Ocho Kandelikas," set to a Ladino song celebrating Hannukah, intriguingly combines flamenco arms with tap-dancing feet. Three men perform the new "Hannukah, Oh Hannukah" in a fusion of tap and Cossack dance whose acrobatic jumping and stamping bring down the house. And "Carol of the Bells" is a visual and aural delight.
Other numbers are quieter but not sad. In Yonally's brief new "Snowfall," eight dancers cleverly manage to suggest they're snowflakes swept by the wind. And in the solo "Christmas Time Is Here," Yonally reprises his "improvography" to the song (played live by guitarist Brian Citro) from "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Though Yonally has the same large, smooth, round head as the cartoon character, he's considerably less angst-ridden. The saddest thing about this dance is the prop: a very skinny Christmas tree.
Valerie Lussac's "Spyrographe" is similarly easygoing - the conceit is that the dancers are gently tossing Christmas tree ornaments. But it's hampered by its cheesy Cirque du Soleil musique for artistes.
Two pieces by company member Kendra Jorstad reveal a flair for comedy. First performed a year ago, "Jingle 'Belles" is danced to an a cappella swing-punk version of the song by the retro Puppini Sisters, whose super-speedy treatment Jorstad not only matches but exceeds. Her new "Stuck in the Airport" creates a whole comic scenario complete with a conflict, a resolution of sorts, and five different characters representing a spectrum of feelings about the holidays. It's amusing, but I could do with fewer comically exaggerated facial expressions, in this dance and others.
Guest artists InSync Dance Theatre repeat their "Winter Song" on Saturday night, and at the Sunday matinee, Footprints Tap Ensemble dances "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town."
Never preachy and rarely predictable, "Tidings of Tap!" doesn't provide the sentimental glow of self-approval that so many other holiday shows do. Nor does it trash the season or the human race for enjoying it. Instead it takes us on a mashed-up tour of holiday clichés, borne on the easy, breezy wings of tap-dancing.
