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Chicago Tap Theatre's Tap & Tastings
Dance is a be-here-now art, every move passing into memory with each passing minute, with each second, really, a blink-and-you-miss-it treasure.
That said, and maybe because of it, dance artists are typically passionate and determined when it comes to saluting their art's legacy. Consider Chicago Tap Theatre's benefit, Tap and Tastings, which this week will include among its performances a pointed tribute to Joel Hall, one of the pioneer's of Chicago's current dance scene.
"I've lived here for 11 years, and I guess when I came I assumed Chicago had always had this huge, vibrant dance community, one with the breadth and depth it has now," Mark Yonally, Chicago Tap artistic director, says. "But it wasn't always the case, and it's important to remember and honor those who made it happen. Joel is unquestionably one of them."
What's more, Yonally, now 37, and other dance artists like him, have close ties to Hall and his company's studio, which has proven a godsend for the Chicago Tappers and other troupes over the years. "We've been in residence at the Joel Hall Dance Center for the past eight years," first at its former headquarters at Clark and Berywn and more recently at Hall's new digs at 5965 N. Clark St. "They've given us a really reasonable rate," Yonally says . "To put it more elegantly, they've given us a home."
"Joel is really an amazing man," Yonally continues. "He has done so much for the Chicago community, helping it to thrive and supporting so many young artists. He's an important educator, too."
The Tap and Tastings benefit, set to begin at 7:30 p.m. at May I Have This Dance, 5246 N. Elston Av., is seemingly occurring in the doldrums of summer, though this particular weekend is jampacked, with the winding down of the Dance/USA confab, Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago at the Harris Theatre Saturday and the ongoing engagement of Aerial Dance at Ruth Page Center for the Arts.
Still, it's a chance to relax and enjoy some of the troupe's classic works. "Same But Different" is an a cappella piece starring dancers who're all singly doing very different steps, but at a unified rhythm, so that, if you close your eyes, you'll swear they're all dancing in sync. The second piece, "Glory Box," is set to Portishead and a showcase for the women. "It's sexy, sultry, strong tap dance, and the group is one of the great trip hop bands of the '90s," Yonally notes. "I'm a huge fan of torch music, Julie London and Peggy Lee, for example, and Portishead is basically torch music for the late 20th Century. It combines torch and what's called crime jazz, a dark, noir-ish mixture overall involving some hip hop."
The third piece, "Epistrophy," scored by the Thelonius Monk work of the same name, is "one that has no meaning, no concept, but about the pure joy of dance, straightforward bebop and a trio to show off the pure rhythmic side of what we do." Yonally is choreographer of all three works, though there's some improvisation in "Epistrophy."
"The whole theme is tap and tastings, so the performances are bite-sized, and there will be drinks from local distilleries, wine, coffee and food," Yonally promises. "One thing's that cool is that it's all local, the food, the drinks, the performers, the dance and the businesses supporting us. My wife and I try to be as local-vore as possible."
Down to and including well-wishing to a local giant: Joel Hall.
So tap and taste away.
Tap and Tastings takes place from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, July 16, at May I Have This Dance, 5246 N. Elston Av. The cost is $75. For more information or buy tickets, 800-838-3006 or brownpapertickets.com.
