Rhythm World 35 concludes with Sarah Savelli’s “Fly Me to the Moon” at Studebaker Theater

The observation that “tap dance is a dying art form,” once a common turn of phrase is heard less often these days and for good reason. The U.S. boasts numerous tap festivals across the country, with similar events occurring in every continent except Antarctica (unless you count the movie “Happy Feet”). Chicago has the longest-running tap dance festival in the world, Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s “Rhythm World,” which celebrated its 35-year anniversary on July 18 with the premiere of Sarah Savelli’s “Fly Me to the Moon” at the Studebaker Theater.

Sarah Savelli is an influential figure in Chicago tap. A founding member of Chicago-based, all-female tap company Rhythm ISS in the 1990’s (with Sharon Rushing and Idella Reed-Davis), Savelli’s tight, intricate rhythms and passion for tap dance has made her a fan favorite. “Fly Me to the Moon” is a fast-paced panegyric to tap and jazz music. Backed by the Eric Hochberg Trio, “Fly Me to the Moon” is a tribute to the prodigious pianist, Oscar Peterson, and the clash between Savelli’s thrumming rhythms and Peterson’s swinging arrangements of jazz standards makes for an interesting synthesis.

The band vamps an intro to the song “Fly Me to the Moon” and in dances Savelli for a brief solo. Her phrases often begin with a press cramp roll (bi-ga-DO), rolling through the toe and heels, before launching into strings of rapid rhythms and dynamic cadences. One by one, dancers enter like friends coming late to a party, shy at first but soon taking to the dance floor. Solos by local hoofer, Jay Fagan, and guest artist, Karissa Royster, up the energy. The cohort melts together, finishing with a combination of loose-ankle slurps punctuated by flat-foot stomps. As the lights dim to blue, and the band transitions into Peterson’s arrangement of Jobim’s “Meditation,” CHRP Artistic Director, Jumaane Taylor, surprises us by taking the stage. Taylor balks at the slow pace of the bossa nova tempo, his rubber ankles snatching 32-note triplets from in front and behind his legs. The scene becomes a late-night jam session as dancers trickle back on stage; choreography by Royster keeps time for trading soloists with a repetitive phrase that begins simple but becomes extremely complex—”Bop Bop, shigifigadubaddubadubiggity-Bop Bop, shigifigadubaddubadubiggity-Bop Bop…”  The entire scene is a tap dancer’s dream, like jammin’ with your best friends on a Friday night.

The stage clears as Hochberg on piano begins the familiar bluesy intro to Peterson’s version of Gershwin’s “Summertime,” and a new crew of dancers takes the stage—Riley Hammett, Sylvia Hodge, Megan Michael, Sophia Savelli, KJ Sheldon and Julia Thacker-Mann. In a work by Savelli, the “new school” of tap plunges into creative uses of the foot, like when backwards scrape of the flexed heel produced sustained, dissonant notes. Despite being a relatively large group, one could hear every accent, like the high-pitched snapping of the toe during a sequence of backwards bombershays. The work culminates in “Cheek to Cheek,” a sort of “improvography,” where dancers improvise independently but with the goal towards harmony, beginning with Taylor, who attacks the floor like trying to carve his signature into the wood with his toe, followed by Savelli, Royster and Fagan. Like the image that appears by pulling your eyes away from a stereogram, from the cacophony emerges a melody, faint but building. They are separate yet connected, weaving around each other, living the dream.

“Fly Me to the Moon” is more of a casual showcase than a formal show. The mood is light and fun, but Savelli’s mighty rhythmic compositions are no joke, and the juxtaposition of dancers at ease while engaging in complex choreography is like watching a storm at cloud level, thunder and lighting below with clear skies up above.

The second act featured a diverse lineup of back-to-back soloists accompanied by the Eric Hochberg Trio. Before the soloists, we are treated to a tribute to Dave Brubeck by Reverb Tap Company, tackling tricky timing with alacrity and finishing a capella, creating a rhythmic symphony with their bodies as instruments. Soloists Shannon Kaminski and Christina Carminucci lighten up the room with their effervescent takes on “Mack the Knife” and “Nardis.” Jason Janas, a technical powerhouse, takes simple ideas—toe and heel combinations, repeating time steps— and pushes them to the limits of volume, tempo and dynamic accent. Anthony Morigerato wows with his catalog of signature moves—long, graceful turns, a flurry of shuffle-pull-change with a flap that cuts in front and a string of rhythm turns while leaping in a circle (of course, wearing his trademark sunglasses). Demi Remick, dressed in bright pink, combines machine gun taps with classic jazz dance moves, at the same time fresh and old school. Cartier Williams, perhaps recalling his performance in Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite” with Chicago Sinfonietta in 2015, begins his set by unfurling his arms birdlike as atonal synth music surrounds him, and he bounds to every part of the stage, his feet like iron, body like liquid, stopping on a dime only for his torso to slip past his legs, like water almost spilling from a full glass. The closer, Derick Grant elicites “aaahs” as he challenges gravity itself, ending a few furious phrases with a leg extended precariously far in front of his body, and, wobbling like a tightrope walker, dares the Earth to pull him down.

The event began with amateur dance companies—LTP Tap, Ohio Elite Tap Comapny, Choreo Records—and seeing young dancers perform with such technical expertise and aplomb is a hearty validation that the future of tap dance is secure. But there’s a history to appreciate too, and Savelli’s “Fly Me to the Moon” reflects a deep respect for the legacy of tap dance and jazz music. Savelli’s teaser left me wanting more, and one hopes to see a more refined version of this work in the future.

“Fly Me to the Moon” ran July 18 at Studebaker Theater, 410 S. Michigan, as part of Rhythm World 35 presented by Chicago Human Rhythm Project. For more information, visit chicagotap.org.