Bang Group: A Mouthful of Shoes
Choreographer David Parker’s “A Mouthful of Shoes” brims with comic enthusiasm and brings together a blend of tap, body percussion, vaudeville, ballet and contemporary dance. Toe shoes, tap shoes, Velcro suits are all part of an evening filled with rhythm and fun. The music is by Morton Feldman, Wolfgang Mozart, Steve Reich, Dean Rosenthal, Igor Stravinsky.

“The Bang Group may seem divine in their deft, virtuosic footwork, but they are human in their relationships.”

– Erin Bomboy, The Dance Enthusiast

“Having started my career in tap, I am drawn to rhythm and percussive dance. However, ours is far from a traditional tap dance show. At times in this new piece that we’ll be performing at PS21, Mouthful of Shoes, the dancers are in bare feet, create body percussion, dance on pointe, are in velcro suits and dress shoes. They even sing. Percussive dance gives dancers a voice. The floor is the surface we play our instruments on and dancers making noise onstage is changing the idea of mute dancers who are to be seen but not heard. They can almost speak to each other through their rhythms, as well as play intricate musical scores. People are in synch, sharing beats, in counterpoint, out of synch, contradicting or agreeing, in the same groove or several at once. And all of this can be expressed through dance rhythm. Rhythm has the ability to bring out humor, and both relationships and humor rely on timing.We want to be entertaining, as well as thought provoking. This show combines elements of tap dancing with elements from music, theater, silent film, and life itself. Our show erases boundaries between music and dance, with the dancers making their own music through dancing itself,”

-David Parker, Choreographer – The Bang Group

Join us before the show!

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25th