Tapping Through Life

Rebecca Ritzel

02 Sep 2024 — 5 min read

What I'm Writing

This week I wrote about the trifecta of tap, ballet and contemporary dance. Mini-previews of DC Tap Fest and The Washington Ballet's Sept. 5 performance at Wolf Trap appeared in Washington City Paper's "So Long, Summer" edition of City Lights Picks.

(The contemporary dance story is coming soon to The Globe and Mail. Also still working on a classical music profile and wrapped a fun research/writing project for a DC nonprofit. Busy times despite the lack of bylines.)

What I'm Seeing

Chloe and Maud Arnold, founders of DC Tap Fest

As you might have heard, New York's Tap City festival was cancelled this year, citing funding struggles. DC Tap Fest was very much on, however, including Friday night's All-Star Concert, which was so, so great.

I marveled at the sheer variety of styles danced by both professional and amateur tappers. Every number exuded such an I-want-to-be-hear-dancing-for-you! energy. Plus a fabulous speech by MacArthur "Genius" Grant recipient Michelle Dorrance moved me to tears, and I caught up with half a dozen dancers I've written about for The Washington Post. (Please see last week's What/If for more of me bemoaning the current difficulty of getting dance coverage into the Post. A-hem.)

Tap Fest highlights:

Luke Spring, who I profiled for the Post when he was 10 and fresh off his Broadway debut in A Christmas Story, has grown into the virtuosic dapper dancer that myself (and others) suspected he'd become. He's a showman tapper, working clicks, splits and lots of over-the-tops into his number.

An ensemble piece by former STOMP! performer Jason Myles for a dozen kids from Gracie's Guys and Gals Dance Studio and 12 folding chairs. They banged the chairs on the floor, sat on the chairs, climbed on the chairs and pounded their heels into the poor chairs laying on the floor. Best dance with chairs I've seen since Ohad Naharin's Minus 16.

Tony from New Orleans performed with front taps attached to a pair of Nikes. "We used to dance with just tin cans on our shoes," he said. "I don't know how you guys with front and back taps do it." (Tony was great but he has a branding problem; can't find him on the internet.)

An a cappella improv solo by MacArthur Genius Award winner Michelle Dorrance, who started with a slow, solo stroll around stage, mysteriously making eight counts of sound with each two steps. In an emotional speech to accept the DC Tap Fest Visionary Award, Dorrance called DC's tap audience "the best on the planet." Amen to that.

"There is a depth of understanding in this community for the power of this art form, as a language, as a culture [and] as a way of carrying an American tradition," Dorrance said, " Only we are still fighting for [tap] to be recognized as an American tradition."

En route home, I met a lovely mom and her teenage son who came down from New York to make up for the loss of Tap City. I'm so sorry, New York, but I could not be prouder. Thanks to sisters, Tap Fest founders and DMV natives Chloe and Maud Arnold for keeping the footlights burning.

Maud Arnold, Michelle Dorrance, Chloe Arnold and the head of some dude sitting in front of me.

What I'm Following

A trio of fascinating Canadian theatre and dance personnel moves! Seriously. Stick with me for a second. Sometimes HR makes for great Instagram content.

Ballet BC, Vancouver's terrific contemporary dance company, has hired a new managing director. Kathy MacKenzie comes to Ballet BC from Vancouver's Arts Club Theatre, where she's been managing director since 2021 and various other jobs for 14 years prior. Top-level business folks moving from theatre to dance is rare, I suspect because so many dance administrators are themselves former dancers who get promoted from within, or poached from other dance orgs. Doesn't mean MacKenzie won't work out at Ballet BC, however. I'm hoping for great things.

Rupert Tookey, partner of Ballet BC artistic director Medhi Walerski, had been serving as interim managing director. By all accounts, Tookey is a skilled administrator himself, and a board member was designated to receive any concerns about the couple's leadership. (I enjoyed speaking with both men for this July story on Ballet BC receiving a $2 million donation to boost dancer salaries.)

But knowing the abuse that occurred while a husband-and-wife team ran Toronto's Soupepper Theatre, coupledom seems like a leadership model that arts orgs need to avoid.

Et voila! Toronto native Shale Wagman has left Munich's Bayerische Staatsoper for Paris Opera Ballet. I spent time in Wagman's childhood studio to report this 2022 Globe and Mail story on the Toronto International Ballet's Nutcracker at Meridian Hall, featuring Ukrainian dancers in the leading roles. Wagman was scheduled to guest in 2023, but pulled out at the last minute due to injury. If he was job hunting, would have been nice if he considered National Ballet of Canada because...

Also Instagram, National Ballet of Canada announced that McGee Maddox will rejoin the company for the fall European tour. This prompted adorable mutual appreciation posts from Maddox and principal dancer Heather Ogden. "McGee!" she wrote. "Heather!" he replied.

The two will dance together in James Kudelka's Passion.

I first saw Maddox perform with National Ballet in 2010 for the premiere of Jorma Elo's Pur ti Mio, and was pretty darn impressed with his presence and athleticism. Maddox became audience favourite before leaving National Ballet in 2017 to take on the role of Jerry for the first national tour of American in Paris. Since then, he's rum-tug-tugged his way through the Cats tour, joined the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, performed in a Fulton Opera House production of 9 to 5 and posted some of the internet's best dance jokes on Instagram feed. (Follow him!)

Maddox has also generally criticized ballet company culture (in general) and complained about body shaming (that he's personally experienced). All in all, an interesting move that acknowledges National Ballet needs more capable partners in its principal ranks.

A fun aside: Maddox took over the role of Jerry from former New York City Ballet principal Robbie Fairchild, who earned a Tony nomination. Robbie is now dating National Ballet principal Ben Rudisin. If Robbie comes to Paris to see National Ballet, the two Americans from American in Paris could dance in Paris. C'est vrai?