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Shetland News, UK - August
30, 2007
Paul makes it to Broadway
A YOUNG musician raised in
Shetland is set to hit America and Canada with the
successful dance and music show Tapeire
By Gavin Morgan
Tapeire is a Celtic
inspired production that merges jazz, hip-hop, punk
and Celtic rhythms with tap dance.
Former Weisdale resident Paul Jennings,
25, will be joining the four member cast for the
first time to perform a stint on New York's Broadway.
Jennings was recently named one of
Scotland's leading percussionists by the BBC's Mary
Ann Kennedy.
The show is the brainchild of the
Guinness Book of Record's "fastest dancer in
the world" James Devine, who clocks in at 38
taps per second.
Tapeire debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe
in 2006 and was sold-out every night of its six
week run, receiving rave reviews.
When the show's former percussionist
left the group, Devine sought out Jennings on myspace.com,
after a strong recommendation.
Jennings said: "When James and
I met up it seemed like we were singing from the
same sheet and got on well. He is a very progressive
thinker in the way that he dances and puts the show
together.
"I have done various things as
a professional musician, including tours of the
States, but this is quite a big deal, so it is a
big jump and a huge chance.
"A lot of times with theatre
shows the musicians are off to the side or in the
pit, but with this the musicians are part of the
cast."
The two other cast members are multi-platinum
selling fiddler Ashley MacIsaac plus composer and
multi-instrumentalist Phamie Gow.
Jennings lived in Shetland from 1986
to 1998, before he moved to Edinburgh to pursue
his musical career.
He has played with a host of acts
and artists including many of the top names in the
Scottish and world music scene.
The tour kicks off in Canada
on the 13 October then onto Broadway in early November
for a three week run and concludes in Miami at the
end of November.
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