go
back one
Metro, New York, United States
- November 15, 2007
DEVINE DANCER
Irish kid fuses tap
and grunge.
By Elizabeth Zimmer
An Irish
kid from County Clare, James Devine is 30 but looks
younger, a shaggy blond in a do-rag and cargo pants.
He fronts what looks like a garage band. He dances
with a push broom, in black shoes with thick silver
heels.
Percussionist Paul Jennings plays
pots and pans and an old typewriter as well as a
traditional drumkit. Scot Phamie Gow plucks her
elctric harp, and the show's best kept secret, Nova
Scotian fiddler Ashley MacIsaac, strolls behind
Devine, playing as fast as the record breaking tapper
taps.
What would an Irish dance show be
without video? This one has it, but all black-and-white,
a collage of historical documents and a live feed
of the hands and feet of the artists. The antithesis
of slick, "Tapeire" is homey, hip, and
welcoming, its vloume set to wake the dead bot not
to scare the youngest kids or alienate their grandparents.
Devine personifies the dancer as rebel,
veteran (and winner) of several national championships
but ready to break the rules and experiment with
new approaches to classic forms. The performers
change their clothes a lot shifting from trad plaid
to goth garments, but the focus is always on the
galloping sound. This 75-minute musical treat fuses
continents, eras and style, its simple surfaces
revealing undercurrents of history abd the future.
Cheers loud enough and they'll do an encore!.
top of
page
