More Information About Jazz Tap Ensemble: ENCORE! With Jazz Vocalist Kate McGarry

Description

When Jazz Tap Ensemble's Artistic Director, Lynn Dally began thinking about returning to the John Anson Ford Amphitheater after last summer's successful 25th Anniversary performance, her vision was an ENCORE! performance. But, just a few days into planning rehearsals, Dally's creative juices began flowing and got the best of her. On Friday, October 7 at 8:00 p.m. at the Ford Amphitheatre, you will see JAZZ TAP ENSEMBLE LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN THEM BEFORE! This much anticipated collaboration with jazz vocalist Kate McGarry and two premieres by Dally - one a taste of Brazil, the other a Thelonious Monk salute - keynotes this evening of exuberant tap dance, brilliant jazz music and vibrant song.

Jazz Tap Ensemble, known for its originality and artistic collaborations, hits a high note with jazz vocalist Kate McGarry when she joins the ensemble dancers and musicians on the Ford stage. This concert, not to be forgotten, will match the choreographic genius of Dally with McGarry's vocal jazz interpretations , the tap improvisations of the dancers, and the moving, original compositions of JTE Music Director Jerry Kalaf.

McGarry is known for using her diversity and improvisational talents to create a sound that is uniquely her own, emotionally direct without artifice or guile. This rare find is further confirmation of Dally's ability to identify and nurture artistic relationships consistently lifting the spirit and performance level of the Company, bringing sheer joy to the stage. If you think you have seen the "best of Jazz Tap Ensemble," think again, you haven't seen or heard anything yet!

Dally will premiere two new works, Aqui O, a Brazilian-inspired choreographic and musical piece directed by Dally and Kalaf, a product of their artistic journey to Brazil, with choreographic collaborations by Holmes, Wiggan and Wiggan and McGarry who brings her love of jazz and Brazilian rhythms into the mix. The second premiere, Monk's Dream, is a suite of works set to the music of Thelonious Monk. Musical choices feature In Walked (Bud) Monk, Ask Me Now, Straight No Chaser, 'Round Midnight, Monk's Dream, Bemsha Swing, and Mysterioso. Company favorites such as Gregory Hines' Groove and Jimmy Slyde's Interplay round out the evening. The evening's line up of dancers will have you dancing in the aisles as venerable tapper Sam Weber returns to the Ford stage from Europe, joined by former Company member, now JTE Caravan Project teacher, Becky Bloom . Setting the stage on fire are the hot feet of current JTE Company dancers: Channing Cook Holmes, a JTE member since 1997; JTE Caravan Project graduate dancer Josette Wiggan; and 2005 Princess Grace - USA Awardee, Joseph Wiggan. The sassy taps of Ayodele Casel ( former member of Savion Glover's NYOT's "Not Your Ordinary Tappers" ) will have you talking back. These incredible dancers will be joined on the Ford stage by the Jazz Tap Ensemble Quartet - Jerry Kalaf (Music Director/Drums), Rich Eames (piano), Brian Scanlon (saxophone), and Chris Conner, (bass) - in this concert of rapid fire taps, jazz music, and hot, Brazilian-inspired jazz vocals. The Caravan Project, JTE's professional training program for talented teen tap dancers from California, featuring Alexis Baricevic, Danielle Behrens, Sam Duran, Anissa Irving, Maya Guice, Jeremy Jackson, Katie Kaufman, Kelsey, McCowan, Tianna Peters, Sarah Reich, and Andres Salazar, will infuse their energized taps into the evening performance.

About the Ticket Supplier: Lynn Dally's Jazz Tap Ensemble

THE JAZZ TAP ENSEMBLE is dedicated to those two great American traditions - tap dancing and jazz music. Hailed as leaders in the renaissance of tap, the Ensemble brings together the virtuosic talents of its several dancers and musicians in a spirited display of creativity and spontaneity. Under the artistic direction of dancer/choreographer, Lynn Dally, this unique company is celebrating its 25th year of bringing original tap dance to the concert stage. JTE has been honored to present and work with such well-known tap masters as Gregory Hines, Jimmy Slyde, Dianne Walker, Brenda Bufalino, Savion Glover, and late greats Charles "Honi" Coles, Steve Condos, Eddie Brown, and Harold Nicholas. Based in Los Angeles, JTE has appeared in major concert halls nationally and internationally including the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian, London's Riverside Theatre, Paris' Theatre de la Ville, and Lyon's Maison de la Danse, as well as Jacob's Pillow, Spoleto USA and major tap festivals in New York, Boulder/Denver, Portland, Houston, Boston, and San Francisco as well as USIA tours of Southeast Asia and Latin America. Highlights include Gregory Hines' Evening of Tap at Carnegie Hall, the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, Madrid's Festival en Danza and Lyon's 4th Biennale, An American Story. T.V. and film credits include JTE Live in Concert, JTE with Honi Coles, and Christian Blackwood's award winning film Tapdancin'.