The theater at the Museum of Contemporary Art is completely dark. Instruments and two tap dance platforms lay across the stage, but no musicians or dancers are to be seen. A voice fills the air, describing tap dance legends mixed with the sounds of tapping but still the stage is empty and dark. The final sentence of the narration describes the connection between the tap dancer and music. At last, the lights go up and tapper Juumane Taylor takes the stage for his piece Jazz Hoofing Quartet as part of the Chicago Dancemakers Forum SHareOUT!
Simultaneously a Dancer and Musician
Taylor begins tapping in the silence creating his own beat. He is “hoofing,” meaning the dance is more about his quick moving feet, and the rest of the body stays un-choreographed, just following along with movements of the feet. Bass player Marlene Rosenberg joins Taylor on stage and plucks along to his beat. Before long, Piano player Justin Dillard joins them along with Makaya McCraven on drums and the four have become their own band.
The piece progresses and the rhythms from each of the musicians and Taylor tapping shift, changing tempos and styles, the music sounding at times more like jazz then blues and back to jazz. Taylor’s tapping mirrors the musical shifts, sometimes moving his feet lighting fast or slowing his movements sliding his shoes across the platform creating entirely different sounds.
As Taylor dances he closes his eyes, focusing on nothing but the music and an expression of pure joy spreads across his face. He is simultaneously a bystander enjoying the music, a solo dancer performing to the sounds, and a musician adding his own rhythms to the band.
Chicago Dancemakers Forum Takes Us From Street to Stage
The second piece in the Dancemakers Forum SHareOUT is Bitter-Sugar & Soul choreographed by Daniel “BRAVEMONK” Haywood. The powerful hip-hop piece takes street dancing to the stage with a powerful message behind it.
The dance begins with a light tone, three male dancers meet on the stage as if they are street dancers and friends meeting up to improvise together. As they dance, doing fast footwork and breakdancing, they cheer each other on, motivating each other to spin faster, work harder, and dig deeper.
A heavier tone sets in as three female choreographers take the stage. Their movements are more weighted and their faces express frustration and anger. They shift between hard hitting ticking movements, each small movement of the body corresponding to a beat in the music and more fluid movements creating waves through different body parts.
All six dancers take the stage for the final portion of the dance. They lie on the floor, the weighted feeling even more prominent and themes of oppression and suffering reveal themselves. Each dancer performs a solo making their way up to standing only to fall back to the floor. Finally, at the end of the piece the dancers band together as a group, dancing together in a circle and each individually coming forward to show off their individual style. The group comes together to support each other, strong enough to break through the barriers they face and rejoice in the dance.
The Chicago Dancemakers Forum SHareOUT is a two weekend long event that featured local performers and the groundbreaking work they have created over the past year with the support of the Chicago Dancemakers Forum.
Visit the Chicago Dancemakers Forum website to learn more about upcoming events and performances.
Jazz Hoofing Quartet
Tap: Juumane Taylor
Piano: Justin Dillard
Drums: Makaya McCraven
Bass: Marlene Rosenberg
Bitter-Sugar & Soul
Dancers: Christopher Ayala, Stephanie “Malibu” Banes, Sohpia Bevilacqua, Ed “Dropz” Clemons, Daniel “BRAVEMONK” Haywood, Kelsa “K-Soul” Robinson
All Photo Credit by Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago.
About the Author:
Hayley Ross graduated from Ohio University in 2016 with degrees in Dance and Journalism. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Hayley began dancing at the age of four. She has studied Ballet, Pointe, Modern, Jazz, Contemporary, and African dance and regularly can be found taking dance and Pilates at Chicago's Lou Conte Dance Studio. Hayley has completed internships at CityScene Media Group, OhioDance, the Chautauqua Institution, and American Dance Festival. She currently works in the Marketing department at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago as the Marketing Manager. Learn more about Hayley at hayleyross.weebly.com
