Tap has always had a problematic relationship with the Bay Area, overshadowed by the higher profile of ballet and modern dance companies. Finding a good tap show in San Francisco has always been a hit-and-miss proposition.
Luckily for local dance audiences, John Kloss has been keeping up the good fight by founding the Bay Area Tap Festival. "The Bay Area has not been a hotbed of tap activity, relatively speaking," he said. "Tap has evolved at a much faster rate in locations like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles."
Kloss has continued to expand the tap parameters by including beatboxing by Carlos Aguirre from the group Felonious, and body percussion by Unique Derique, as well as music by local jazz legend Marcus Shelby. The festival focuses on what makes local tap unique. "Bay Area tap has a smooth, laid-back technique that is characteristic of tap on the West Coast in general," said Kloss.
This year's programming features classic song-and-dance stylings by Deborah Mitchell, elegant technique by local superstar Sam Weber, and the more expressive attack style characterized by Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards. Other performers include Channing Cook-Holmes, Kloss and more music by Sista Kee.
Tap has continued to evolve through the years, said Kloss. "Noted tap artists such as Savion Glover and Jason Samuels-Smith have boosted the level of physical and rhythmic complexity within the form, and this information is taking hold in the bodies and minds of even younger dancers as they continue to push the form."
Kloss points out that despite the Bay Area having a relatively low profile on the national scene, "The Bay Area tap community is rich in tradition and populated by many staunch advocates of the art-form. It enjoys the body of knowledge disseminated by noted local pedagogues such as Al Robinson, Berle Davis, Weber, and the late Stanley Kahn." He acknowledges that local tap has hurdles to overcome. "Challenges within the Bay Area tap community include trying to expose dancers to the growth and development that the art-form is experiencing elsewhere."
2007 Bay Area Rhythm Exchange (Bay Area Tap Festival), Sat., Aug. 18 at 8 p.m., Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave., SF. Tickets ($16-$22): (415) 392-4400 or cityboxoffice.com. More info at www.stepology.com.