|
"A fantastic look into the world of tap dance"
"...tap dance at its finest."
"It seems futile to try describing the talent or the feelings that
filled the Gloria Theatre, since mere words do not seem to do them
justice."
"The audience was swept away by the exotic rhythms, ranging
from hot Latin to exotic Asian. One can only admire the heart
and soul of the Festival, Sofi Kyrklund, for bringing together
such an outstanding array of stars on stage in Finland."
Jussi Tossavainen/Helsingin Sanomat
August 11, 2003
(translation from Finnish to English)
Classes and Teachers
"Excellent and inspiring!"
"You couldn't have made a better choice - enjoyed every
class."
Concerts and evening events
"The concerts and the other evening events
where grand!"
"Beat City: Excellent mixture of different styles, performers
and musicians. The show of the year."
Overall Organization
"Well organized. Friendly staff."
"Great that the festival sticks to its principle of offering new
and changing tap around the world."
While some may associate Finland with mobile phones or ice hockey, many have come to regard it as the location of one of Europe's most influential international tap festivals. Feet Beat, a non-profit organization, was proud to produce its 7th International Feet Beat Tap Festival held August 4 -10, 2003 in Helsinki, Finland.
The 7th International Feet Beat Tap Festival was a great success with a record number of participants coming from eleven countries including among others: France, Spain, Austria, Germany, the United States and, of course, different parts of Finland. As we all know, the teachers are what make a festival great. This year Feet Beat had some of the best teachers around including: Tapage, made up of Mari Fujibayashi (Japan) and Olivia Rosenkrantz (France), Josh Hilberman (USA), Junior Laniyan (UK), Hervé Le Goff (France), Max Pollak (Austria/USA), Bril Barrett (USA), Chester Whitmore (USA), David Yoken (USA/Finland) and Ramon Silverio (Cuba/Finland).
Master classes, from elementary to advanced, ran throughout the week including separate youth (age 9-14) classes. And not only were the teachers amazing, but Feet Beat was glad to cooperate with over ten independent musicians, mostly percussionists.
"Feet Beat is a fun, creative, educational, artistic and personal pleasure. Students and teachers really enjoy the experiences." -Josh Hilberman, 2003.
Feet Beat hosted a variety of evening tap events to compliment the intense daytime class schedule, since tap festivals are not only about the fantastic workshops and classes. The Festival week got off to an energetic start with a mix of swing dance, tap performances and improv hosted by Josh Hilberman at the "Swing and Groove Jam". The Finnish Swingsters impressed the audience with their display of swing dance and the Feet Beat Tap Ensemble performed a traditional tap tribute to Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Impromptu tap performances by festival participants, such as the Spanish group Contaptoe, the tap dance group of Marjo Terästö, as well as the masters, such as Bril Barrett and Junior Laniyan, added spice and excitement to an evening of fun. The Finnish trio Ahma adeptly accompanied the jam.
The Island Jam, later during the Festival week, was held on Uunisaari, a small island off the coast of Helsinki. This event was designed to give participants a chance to meet with one another on a more social level and to experience some cultural aspects of Finland. Participants were able to enjoy a traditional Finnish sauna, a dip in the cool seawater, a buffet of Finnish cuisine, and to top it all off, a tap jam hosted by Max Pollak. Although open to the public, it became a more intimate evening for festival participants as they jammed into the night accompanied by live percussion.
But what would a festival be without a chance for students to sit back and enjoy a good show or two? Feet Beat produced two superb tap concerts: Feet Fusion and Beat City. Both concerts were held at the historical Gloria Theater, the oldest cinema house in Finland. Although different in terms of performers, each concert thrilled its viewers with the talent, energy and diversity of its respective performances. The audience was treated to tap in a myriad of styles, such as: Max Pollak's mix of scintillating Latin tap and body drumming, Tapage's gorgeous choreographies with their unique east-asian flare, Bril Barrett's hard-hitting funk and hip hop, Chester Whitmore's unforgettable and incredible taps and drums, Josh Hilberman's wonderful performance accompanied by Finnish bluegrass duo Jemina and Selina Sillanpää, and the list seems to go on.
The final festival day was devoted to workshops in African dance and an Improv class in tap, in order to compliment participants' knowledge of tap. In the afternoon, in collaboration with the Helsinki URBan dance festival, a free outdoor concert was held on the open-air stage of the Kiasma Modern Art Gallery. Among the performers were Chester Whitmore's Vernacular Jazz choreography class, the University of Minnesota Duluth's Sole Impulse, Jussi Lindroos - a promising and exciting young Finnish tap dance talent - and the energetic Spanish Contaptoe performed. The weather was beautiful and festival participants sat together on the lawn for one last time, amongst other onlookers, watching the performances and saying their good-byes before going home.
The Feet Beat International Tap Festival is growing each year. It is fast becoming the Tap festival to attend in Europe. It offers the opportunity for Europeans, as well as others, to get the quality tap courses offered at American festivals, but in a more personal setting and without having to travel so far. Plans are already in the making for the 8th International Feet Beat Tap Festival August 2-8, 2004 and it promises to be just as exciting. So, keep your eyes open for the website and be one of the first to take advantage of this dynamic and rewarding experience.
Authors: Valerie Hollis-Fischer and Liisa Benmergui