Tap Ole creates something spectacular: a passionate, innovative fusion of sounds, rhythms and styles

Friday 03 August by Louise Black

In a small venue with red and gold decor, and the musty smell of lingering dry ice, this hot passionate show perfectly suits its surroundings. Two dancers and two guitarists, each a master of their skill in their own right, command attention from the outset. A simple beginning, a classical Spanish guitar piece, snowballs into an explosion of ferocious tap dancing, the feet of the pint-sized dancers providing the rhythmic accompaniment for the guitars.

Instantly likable, the dancers Guillem Alonso and Roser Font attack the intricate choreography with astonishing ease. Perfectly synchronised, they bound through an energetic hour of technically flawless and spine-tingling tap dancing. The simplicity of the staging pales into insignificance when Alonso, drenched in blue light, begins to pour sand onto the floor in a cascade of swirling shapes. He precedes to use the sand as a surface to dance on and creates sounds which can only be likened to those of a human beat boxer, wowing the almost-full theatre.

With the evident warmth of the on-stage relationships, Tap Olé creates something spectacular. Along with the beats of the dancing, each classical Spanish guitar piece developes into an innovative fusion of sounds, rhythms and styles.

© Fest Magazine 2007.
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