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Newsday.com, United States
- November 7, 2007
JAMES DEVINE's TAPEIRE SPOTLIGHTS
IRISH DANCE
Bring in Devine and his Guinness-record
fastest feet.
By Apollinaire Scherr | Special
to Newsday
If James
Devine hadn't stumbled upon "Bring in 'Da Noise,
Bring in 'Da Funk" in 1997, when he was in
the chorus of "Lord of the Dance," the
Irishman with certifiably the fastest feet in the
world might still be kicking up his legs in the
latest Michael Flatley spectacle. About Savion Glover's
hard-hitting show, he says, "I was totally
inspired."
"There was a freedom of expression,"
he says, "that wasn't about 30 dancers doing
the same steps at the same speed like a rapid-fire
army." Plus, "history was attached to
the dancing."
If anyone should have known the history
of Irish dance, it would be Devine. From a town
in County Clare so small "it wasn't a town
- you need a pub for that," he followed in
the champion footsteps of his mother to win the
World Grand Slam for Irish dance three years in
a row, starting at age 14. But he didn't know the
first thing about the dance's history. "You
weren't taught that," he says.
So he taught himself. The result
is the spirited "Tapeire," clattering into
the New Victory Theater Friday.
"The show's not a history lesson,"
reassures Devine with a sweet laugh. "We're
not in period costumes." The young four-person
crew favors T-shirts. Devine does a tap rendition
of Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust."
And the electric harpist he discovered on MySpace,
he says, "is Jimi Hendrix on harp - too cool
not to have in the show."
Still, he says he wants "the
audience to see the dance for what it is - the rhythms
within the culture. In my experience, the bigger
shows like 'Lord of the Dance' and 'Riverdance'
overshadow that."
His rhythms are intricate. His steps
honor the "old style," before the Irish
Dancing Commission was established in 1929. The
heels dig into the ground, the arms are relaxed
and the feet remain close enough together to fit
on the top of a cake-sized box. (As Devine demonstrates
in the show, to exhilarating effect.) The musical
instruments include pots, pans, spoons - whatever
is at hand.
Devine and the musicians trade off
in a spirit of one-upmanship. At one point, he and
percussionist Paul Jennings engage in a speed contest,
with Jennings on typewriter and him on feet.
Devine usually wins. In 1998, the
Guinness Book of World Records named him the fastest
dancer, at 38 hits per second. Former boss Flatley
could only muster 34. "I'd seen him dance every
night," says Devine with only a trace of glee,
"and I felt I was faster."
Guinness' methods "were very
scientific," he attests. They locked him in
a sound studio, checked all the screws on his shoes
and measured the sound waves of each tap. This year,
Devine plans to set the record for fastest beats
per minute.
How does a person strike so fast?
"Keep the feet together and close to the ground."
Like the Irish did from the start.
"Tapeire" opens Friday and
runs through Nov. 25 at the New Victory Theater,
209 W. 42nd St., near Broadway. Tickets $12-$35.
Call 646-223-3010 or visit newvictory.org.
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