Musical meditations on bell hooks at Chicago Tap Theatre

Tap dance is as much body made music as it is dance, and for its final show of the season, Chicago Tap Theatre’s artistic associate Sterling Harris has created and directed a dynamic and devised work that combines a masterful jazz trio score by Emma Blau, played live center stage, with the full company dancing around and through while musing on the landmark work by bell hooks entitled “All About Love”.   A love offering to the audience, For All We Know  begins with the dancers creating a kind of altar of red flowers, tap shoes, and a trombone that Harris will later play. Harris taking up an instrument underlines the collaboration of the dancer with the jazz trio, which becomes a quartet— but is in reality a full orchestra since the sound of the tap dancing is part of the score and is in conversation with the three musicians. 

This is open ended highly physical tap,not the stuff of music theatre show numbers. Here improvisations often riff out of duets and trios and bigger groups of clearly heavily rehearsed precision sections, and there are several times in the evening where each of the dancers gets a fantastic solo. Dressed in red jumpsuits printed with words from the hooks manuscript, parts of which are read in voiceover, each of the dancers is decidedly just themselves, a distinct character that joins with the ensemble while retaining individuality: there is loose limbed up on the toes virtuosity, and rapid fire speed tapping. There are standard rhythms and risk taking experiments. This is dancing that is not polished to look like everyone else’s idea of what the dancer should be: this is dancing that clearly tells us exactly who this person is. There is a kind of brilliance in every aspect of this performance.  There is also a sweet humanity, as the dancers connect with each other and create, at several touchpoints, a drawing using pigments they swirl across a canvas with their steps. There is also an intensity of focus between the musicians and the dancers where we see the connection of concentration and generosity. This work is about cooperation and collaboration to make a whole that is more beautiful than the sum of its parts. 

CTT is a remarkable group and there are several chances to see them around town this summer: next weekend they will be appearing live in the community at Artists of the Wall in Rogers Park on June 14 at 11:30am.  Don’t miss this company: most company presentations are a weekend long so you need to sign up for their newsletter at chicagotaptheatre.com 

For All We Know was presented June 5-8th at The Edge Theatre, 5451 N Broadway in Chicago. For more information go to https://chicagotaptheatre.com/see-a-show/#/productions-view

For more reviews go to https://www.theatreinchicago.com