The Winter Tap JAMboree! weekend of events at the Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th St. in Chicago, includes a performance, workshops and classes, a tap scholarship audition and a choreography competition. The performance on Sunday, February 18 at 4 pm features special guest from France, Roxane Butterfly, the only woman tap dancer to receive a Bessie Award and current recipient of the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship, along with CHRP Founder and Artistic Director Lane Alexander and his ensemble BAM!, Dianne “Lady Di” Walker, Sam Weber and the Jeremy Kahn Trio. This program is a featured event in the City of Chicago’s Winter Delights program.
On Saturday, February 17 at 9 a.m., CHRP hosts its seventh annual Midwest TAP OFF! Competition. Dance masters Alexander, Butterfly, Walker and Weber will judge the choreography based on rhythmic composition and execution, performance, style, choreographic composition and overall impression, awarding cash prizes to winners from each of three categories: solo, duo/trio and small group/large group. Winners also will have the opportunity to perform during the Winter Tap JAMboree! concert on February 18. Complete rules and an entry form are available at chicagotap.org.
The 12th annual Leo Harris Rhythm World Scholarship auditions, which recognize Harris’ contribution to the dance community and Leo’s Dancewear’s generous support for tap and all forms of dance, take place Sunday, February 18 at 10 a.m. Alexander, Butterfly, Martin “Tre” Dumas, Walker, Weber and others will serve as judges, awarding $15,000 in scholarships for classes during CHRP’s Rhythm World festival in August 2007. CHRP invites members of the public to participate in a free “You Be the Judge” panel during the final hour of the audition, choosing three scholarship winners. The audition entry fee is $10. Complete rules and an entry form are available at chicagotap.org.
Throughout the three-day weekend, CHRP will host its Winter Workshop, a series of classes at the intermediate, advanced and professional levels. Instructors include Alexander, Butterfly, Dumas, Jimmy Payne, Jr., Walker and Weber. Classes are $25 each plus a $20 registration fee. A detailed schedule and registration forms are available at chicagotap.org.
