New Jersey Tap Ensemble Salutes an American Art Form in Pass It On
(Mahwah) – The New Jersey Tap Ensemble dancers will present their newest work, Pass It On, a fun-filled patriotic show, Sunday, December 1 in the Sharp Theater at Ramapo College of New Jersey. The show celebrates America, the American spirit and the survival and evolution of the American art form of tap dancing through its passage from one generation to another.
Audiences will experience some of the musical numbers from Rhythm Is Our Business! and the thread of traditional tap dancing and jazz standards are woven throughout this presentation. The performance illuminates the dynamic skill, exuberance and energy of today’s tap generation. The audience will be thrilled once again by guest artists Karen Callaway Williams and Parris Mann. Mann will perform and treat the audience to “The Party” a musical number, which he choreographed that infuses tap and swing. Williams will perform a version of the stair number made famous by the legendary Bill Bojangles Robinson. Young dancers will embrace traditional tap dancing such as “The Shim Sham,” in addition to contemporary numbers such as “Do Like You,” a musical number featuring children learning to tap the old fashioned way, imitating their mentors. It’s a show the entire family will enjoy.
The importance of this work can be summed up best by Artistic Director Deborah Mitchell, who says, “I have an obligation to pass on the traditions of the art form of rhythm tap dancing that were so generously passed on to me. Those traditions are not simply time-steps and techniques, but the dignity, class and hard work that contributed to an art form that was not always executed in a movie studio or dance school. Those who laid the foundation of rhythm tap sometimes performed it as an expression of pure joy and sometimes it was performed as the only vehicle for survival.”
Tickets for New Jersey Tap Ensemble’s Pass It On are $21 for adults, $18 for seniors and $10 for students. For information, call (201) 684-7844.
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