Bringing a new spin to its annual celebration of National Tap Dance Day, the Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP), the world’s only year-round presenter of American tap dance and contemporary percussive arts, presents Windy City Rhythms Goes Global, featuring the postponed Chicago debut of the Brazilian body band Barbatuques, joined by Emmy Award winner Jason Samuels Smith and CHRP’s performing ensemble BAM!. Windy City Rhythms Goes Global, presented in association with the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), takes place May 29–31 at the MCA Stage, 220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago.

If you happen to be in or around Stuttgart, Germany, on April 24th, 2009, you'll definitely want to check out Pascal Hulin's Tap Reloaded 2009 show featuring Jason Samuels Smith, Chloe Arnold, Dorel & Costel Surbeck, Fabrice Martin, Lukas Weiss, Noelia Vincente, Carlos Ramos, Christiane Matallo & Gilberto de Syllos, Konstantin Nevretdinov, Fredy Corado, and The Penguin Tappers. Buy your tickets here. Enjoy this full color poster!

CHICAGO TAP THEATRE PRESENTS: THE HOURGLASS AND THE POISONED PEN
A SUPERHERO TAP DANCE OPERA

JUNE 27-29, JULY 5, 6, 11-13 and 18-20
AT THE ATHENAEUM THEATRE STUDIO 3 (2936 N. SOUTHPORT)

CHICAGO- Chicago Tap Theatre makes history again when it presents the nation’s first superhero tap dance opera sequel this June and July at the Athenaeum Theatre Studio 3. Co-created by comic book artist Andrew Pepoy (inker of Batman, X-Men, and The Simpsons, among others) and CTT Artistic Director Mark Yonally, The Hourglass and the Poisoned Pen follows The Hourglass, a superheroine endowed with powers she is struggling to understand as she battles the forces of evil embodied by the Poisoned Pen and other nefarious characters. Not just a strict sequel, this production also encapsulates last year’s The Hourglass in the Stop-Time Chronicles so that no one will be missing any important plot developments.

James Devine, who is certified as the fastest tap dancer in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records with a speed of 38 taps per second, stars in Tapeire, a show that is "part documentary, part history lesson, part tap dancing extraordinaire, and all lots of fun," according to this article in the The Epoch Times. Though the show is mostly in the "style of Irish Line Dancing," they do "let loose" and even use hip-hop and funk music. Here is their tour schedule.

Whether you like the concept or not, Mike Schulster and Joel Hanna's new show. Revolution, is making waves. The show is a fusion of rock and roll music with tap and "loose" choreography. "People say, 'You're trying to change tap dance,' and I disagree," Schulster says in this New York Post article. "The old-time guys danced to the music that was popular then, and it's the same thing now. Revolution doesn't mean rebellion, it means using all of it. In this show we nod to Fred Astaire, we do a little sand dance." The show is at the Joyce Theatre in Manhattan through October 7th.

Tap pro Acia Gray has received an NEA grant to take her tap company on tour. The show will be called Souls Of Our Feet II and will feature reconstructed works by Arthur Duncan, Jeni LeGon, Harold Cromer, Brenda Bufalino, and others. Check out the video sample below. Click the Read more link to see the tour schedule.

Maurice Hines, older brother of Gregory, has "dusted off" his tap shoes and will star in the 25th anniversary production of Sheldon Epps' "Blues In The Night," according to this article. The show reunites Hines with singer Freda Payne and features songs by Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, and others. The show runs August 15th through September 30th at San Francisco's Post Street Theatre.

Savion catches one critic's eye at his four-day Live For London show where he taps for 45 minutes straight and "still has enough breath to sing a number," according to this review.