A review of The Pulse and New York City Tap Festival
By Bianca Gallifuoco
Good morning New York
In the city that never sleeps, why should you?! A week in NYC means that in seven days you can take class from the best of the best in dance, followed by shows on and off Broadway, live jazz, clubs, and maybe some rest.
The Pulse on Tour
How would you like to take class with Mia Michaels, Wade Robson, Dave Scott, Laurie Ann Gibson, Chris Judd and Brian Friedman? The Pulse on Tour brings these dance celebrities to cities across America and the tour culminates in the July Summer workshops in New York and L.A. This year was the first year of the Advanced Pro category, which meant that I didn’t have to share my space with students half my age, rather, I only had to share these dance greats with approximately 44 other dancers. I must say, I felt very special. And a surprise masterclass with Janet Jackson’s choreographer Gil Duldulao was the icing on the cake!
The loud, overly optimistic Americans sure do live up to their reputation. Class is not just ‘class’ in NYC – it is inspiration, motivation and passion injected into dance. Laurie Ann Gibson told us to fight in every movement, just as she fought as a hip hop dancer; Mia Michaels inspired us to feel perfect just as we are and to bring that perfection to dance; Wade Robson’s overwhelming presence made it difficult to concentrate on the choreography; Dave Scott’s crazy moves made you just want to watch him dance; and Brian Friedman worked us so hard that there wasn’t time to think! And a night out on the town with some of these brilliant choreographers takes dancing in a club to another level entirely!
Learning from the best of the best injects a certain urgency with which to work on your craft – you don’t want to waste a second, even to go to the toilet!! (particularly in Wade’s presence!) At times, I felt compelled to just watch these masters at work, and at other times, I danced harder than I thought I could. I highly recommend attending the Pulse even if you have to share the faculty with hundreds of other students. You don’t need one on one attention to learn – just soak up all you can. And if you have more energy after a full day of class, head to Broadway Dance Center for more classes – Rhapsody, Lajon and George, Anes and David Marquez are all a must!
At the end of the workshop, it was wonderful to take a seat and watch Brian Friedman’s Intensive perform and other selected pieces. The talent of young dancers in America was truly gob-smacking!
New York City Tap Festival
The annual New York City Tap Festival has a feeling of ancestry about it. The festival brings together the tap greats of the past and the present. Not only can you take class from Brenda Bufalino and Jane Goldberg – pioneers in tap for over 50 years who have tapped alongside Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis Jr. – but you can talk to them, buy their books, touch up on tap history and have coffee with them. These women have single-handedly set-up tap festivals in order to bring together people of all ages who are united by their common love for tap.
Taking class from Jason Samuels Smith, Dormeisha Sumbry Edwards and Michelle Dorrance was like driving a racing car for the first time. They have, without doubt, the fastest feet in tap today. If you were to blink, you would miss an entire sequence. Trying to tap even remotely as well as they demonstrated was an impossible task. It left me humbled and honoured. I felt like I was a young student learning to tap for the first time. Feeling so incompetent is humbling and empowering as you see with fresh eyes a dance form you thought you knew so well.
Watching and learning from these brilliant tappers, legendary and contemporary, put all of my training in perspective for me. I realised that you must never stop learning whatever it is that you do. If you think that you have mastered a dance form, then you are sadly mistaken. And what better way to learn what is happening on the other side of the world in tap than going to the New York City Tap Festival! The tap community was a family inviting all students in with open arms. The classes were small and the teachers approachable. Students were friendly and supportive and most of all, it was so much fun!
The showcases at the Symphony Space demanded standing ovations and at times tears, in commemoration of tap greats who have passed on.
Goodnight New York
What was especially wonderful for me, was that every teacher at The Pulse and at Tap City, was an amazing dancer, choreographer and teacher and you don’t always get all of those qualities in the one person. A jam-packed week left me wanting more as my passion for dance was fuelled and re-ignited.
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