| At the moment I work in education, not in performing arts but engineering and technology, I started tap purely through curiosity of how it would feel to be creating pure rhythm with my feet. Having played drums I have always been captivated by tap dancing, mainly though the old black and white films of the thirties, but it was the sight of the late great Gregory Hines in a film that gave me the inspiration to try tap dancing. I do most of my tap work outs where I work in south east London. I really enjoy performing and it is such a buzz when you are performing to an appreciative audience. |
 My
first musical experience was playing the drums, which I did for a few
years at an early age then went on to take up the bass guitar, which was
a more manageable instrument, not to mention neighbourhood friendly. I
played in a few bands before settling down in a modern jazz band, where
I remained for a few years and then progressing on to the acoustic
double bass. It is
 with this band that I spent a lot of
time studying jazz musicianship and is where I believe, I gained valuable
experience and a certain feel for the music and how the rhythmic complexity
of beats and tones interplay with each other. When I started tap it was
this rhythmic complexity that was in my mind and it just seems to spill
out through my feet. Never having taken a tap lesson in my life I suppose
gives rise to the impression that a person who takes on such a task must
be a little undisciplined in their approach. I disagree, as I have always
taken it upon my self to set my self a goal for learning a specific steps
as if they were a quest for knowledge. To me having a teacher who has
all the answers would be a little too easy and besides it makes it more
interesting to study of the art form and it's roots, seeking out information
where ever it can be found. Having said this, there are basically no teachers
currently in the UK who teach real jazz tap, some thing I hope to put
right in the near future. |
I recently appeared on a TV show called 'Movie Babylon' which was not really
in context with what I do,  but
I thought why not and went along with the idea of tapping out Hollywood
movie tunes. I found working on the TV a very good experience and would
like to find other opportunities in this area, however it does detract from
the  live
aspect of my tap dancing, in that most things are done over and over again,
in an effort to produce a seamless program.
In the studio environment there is more control over the sound you produce
and it can be modified slightly by bringing up the harmonics of the high
frequencies which gives a nice crisp quality to the sound. During the production
there are many piece of which need to be slotted in and there are time constraints
put on you which as formally a Jazz musician, I found a little limiting
because the underlined fact of Improvisation is the limitless constraints that
you work within. |
 Basically,
my act consists of tapping on a board 3 foot square, which can be amplified
if the venue requires it. This idea of tapping on a personalised board
was borrowed from my friend Will Gains, as it makes sense. If your feet
are your instruments you need to always have the same tap surface conditions
in order to have some consistency of sound. This you may be thinking is
a restriction to a tap dancer but it all depends on your idea of what
a tap dancer does. There is a lot more to the art than just the visual
presentation of flips splits and poses. I believe the art is in the sound
as that is what tap dancing was originally created for, I am sort of a
traditionalist maybe. I perform rather like a band member taking my solos
in turn with every one else as  accompany
where needed just as a percussionist would in a band, only I use my feet
to express my self. Obviously having a bigger space to perform is an advantage,
but with many venues, space is not often a luxury often afforded to the
musicians. |
 I
have taken part in a few jazz festivals and performed in a number of jazz
venue's around the UK mainly as support and guest artist with various
band member line ups from duo to quartet. I have taken part Christmas
shows and I have also worked with the UK's one and only American jazz
hoofer, Will Gaines, who is also a good friend. I appeared in a production
of 42nd Street as guest performer, and although I was not the leading
man I was however given a solo spot of my own. Unlike America, there is
not the great interest here for the jazz art's, it is seen as a music
that blends into the back ground. A jazz musician here is seldom a professional
jazz musician, but commonly they are session and orchestral musicians
who play as a side line as there
is no great living to be made out of it. Because of this situation it
is hard to keep a band together as members are reluctant to spend time
rehearsing when they could be out there earning money. Possibly one of
it's attractions is the fact that the music is not main stream and still
has a certain underground quality to it. |
I
am a jazz tap dancer first and for most, unlike the usual tap dancers
we have here in the UK, jazz Improvisation is my speciality. My inspiration
comes from the creativity of Jazz tap as it is always new, always ever
changing and is this quality that I find so rewarding. Not having had
a teacher may present certain draw backs, but it also leaves you free
to attempt what ever steps come into mind, with out being bogged down
with how this step should be done and what's the name of that step.
|
 I
have held a number of jazz tap Improvisation workshops around London for
advanced and intermediate students. Which involve the sharing and exchanging
rhythmic ideas on a one to one or in a group participation exercise. I
hope to start teaching one day in the future so that I can bring the art
of jazz tap to a greater public awareness and make the art a little more
accessible to many different levels of ability. I believe that work shops
like this help every one to explore there own potential, I also learn
a lot from holding them, it is all good experience. |
