City Slice: Dancing In The Streets
Posted September 23, 2010 11:02 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The intersection of Yonge and Dundas throbs to its own unique soundtrack.
The incessant roar of traffic meshes with the trample of scrambling pedestrians while the verbal sleet of street evangelists, the electric hum of advertising screens, and the screams of occasional sirens round out the swirling soup of sound.
For most urbanites, these are familiar auditory experiences.
On a grey weekday afternoon, however, I couldn’t help but notice a small circle of people, with syncopated rhythms I have never heard downtown, emerging from the shrouded epicentre.
Upon further examination the source of these fresh sounds is revealed.
Luke Hawkins, 25, and Joseph Wiggan, 24, two California natives who now reside in New York City are tap dancing on two small planks outside of the Eaton Centre. Both are in town to perform in Cirque du Soleil’s Banana Shpeel production which runs from September 22-29 at the Canon Theatre.
Despite their heavy schedule, hitting the streets to share the often-overshadowed skills and nuances of tap dancing is one their passions.
“This is something that we do, it’s one of our main pastimes, Luke and I, we always dance on the street to practice and entertain all of those around,” said Joseph, sweat dripping down his face.
The talented dancers admit they’ve been inspired by some of Toronto’s colourful street performers and buskers.
“Since we’ve been here this week all I’ve seen is break dancers and drummers and other musicians so that was a huge inspiration for us to even think to do it as well,” Wiggan admits.
“Something I was really impressed with is the diversity that I’ve seen.”
Hawkins realizes that tap dancing may no longer be a mainstream art form, but with shows like So You Think You Can Dance, he thinks the time is ripe for a resurgence.
“People call tap dancing a lost art…in the dance world it’s not as prevalent, it’s not as widespread as…contemporary and modern. And there’s many ballet companies all across the world, and not nearly as many tap companies, but there’s definitely a community that is growing very quickly.”
“I think a tragedy is how many amazing tap dancers there were that didn’t get the recognition they should have.”
Wiggans returns to his plank and unleashes a blazing display of diamond sharp dexterity, sending a flock of notes into the atmosphere while shoppers drift by, eying the blur of his black shoes.
Flashing a smile, he reminds me, “Tap dancing is not going anywhere.”
michael.talbot@citynews.rogers.com
