THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 28, 1996 TAG: 9601250220
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARY ELLEN RIDDLE
CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
DARE COUNTY schools, from Kitty Hawk to Manteo to Cape Hatteras, will be alive with tapping beginning Feb. 6.
For an entire week, the schools, in conjunction with the Dare County Arts Council, will host the National Tap Ensemble from Washington, D.C.
The high energy group, known for its worldwide dedication to sharing the history of tap, will perform in all seven schools and hold a public performance on Feb. 9 at Manteo Middle School.
National Tap Ensemble dancers and musicians will share the story of tap with the students, showcasing its multicultural roots.
This audience-involved program will familiarize children with the legendary tap masters, like Eddie Brown and John Bubbles, who were responsible for creating the legacy of American tap.
Generations of dance styles will be performed.
James Brown and Michael Jackson fans may be interested in knowing that the ``Moonwalk'' dance step, made famous by both these singers, has its roots in tap, traced back 2,000 years through an African chief.
Chris Belliou, artistic director for the National Tap Ensemble, said the origin of bebop is attributed to the rhythmic tapping sounds coming from the dancing feet of Bubbles.
One thing is for sure, tap, like its home, America, was born from a merging of heritages that includes elements of African-American dance, English clog and the Irish jig.
While tap lessons are available for today's children, Belliou said most instructors do not teach or even know the origin of the rhythmic dance that has been highlighting American stages for centuries.
Traditionally, American tap classes, he said, mostly teach stage tap, the ``Hollywood-style'' movement that incorporates more of the body moving around the stage and little rhythm and quality of tone through tapping.
With the National Tap performers, you'll experience the variety in sound and movement through jazz and rhythm tap and see dancers and musicians who have studied with the masters of this percussive art form.
Belliou, who learned his craft from the late Eddie ``Scientific Rhythm'' Brown, will join several tap ensemble members to perform in Dare County.
The National Tap Ensemble consists of 10 musicians and dancers including the legendary 83-year-old Buster Brown from Harlem. The company was started by three people in Washington in 1988. The National Tap Ensemble is one of four major performing tap groups in the United States, but Belliou said the company sets itself apart from the other groups by its love for educational programming. Also a full-fledged concert performance company, the internationally recognized group travels extensively worldwide, in large, medium and small groups and solo to share their love and knowledge of tap.
``All of us enjoy traveling and meeting new people and sharing just what we do,'' Belliou said. ``We love it.''
The National Tap Ensemble is definitely not just a stage lined with dancers in shiny black shoes reminiscent of the Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire days, but a powerful performance art that celebrates the artistic union of the Black and Caucasian races. ``It has the power to bring people together,'' Belliou said. ``Anything to do with rhythm means immediately something to everybody because everybody has a heart beat.'' ILLUSTRATION: The National Tap Ensemble presents programs showing the history
of the dance form and the relationship between jazz and tap.
Chris Belliou
Artistic director of the National Tap Ensemble.
by CNB