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Sunday Herald, UK - 13 Aug, 2006
WELL-PACKAGED AND WITTY. A SURE-FIRE FRINGE HIT.
Like Stomp and Tap Dogs before them, they make bone-shaking music and dance with every available surface.
By Ellie Carr

THE FASTEST FEET IN THE WORLD
With his goatee beard, loose ponytail and baggy Rip Curl T-shirt, James Devine looks every inch the laidback surfer dude. But don’t be fooled by the relaxed demeanour. There is nothing remotely slow about the Irish-born turbo “Celtic tapper” and star of Tapeire. At 29, he holds the Guinness World Record for “fastest dancer who has ever lived”. That translates as 38 taps per second. Which – believe me – is faster than the eye can see. It also happens to be faster than self- proclaimed Lord of the Dance, Michael Flatley.

But where Irish-American Flatley has a star-spangled ego, Edinburgh-based Devine has charisma and a cheeky twinkle in his eye. The three-times world champion also has a thing for keeping it real. Tapeire takes place on a simple stage with few props. It’s not quite unplugged (he has tiny microphones taped to his feet), but unlike most Irish shows, there are no pre-recorded taps. Every rapid-fire volley of sound coming from those magical feet is live.

The show’s theme comes via a film backdrop giving a potted history of Irish dance. Well-packaged and witty, it leads us from early sean-nós (old-style) culture and its obsession with “economy of space”, to festivals and their arcane rules (no arms, no improvisation, no unsuitable undies), to commercial stage shows and finally, “experimentation”. For Devine this means blending improv with rhythm tap and Irish dance.

The theme is diverting, but essentially this is less show than gig. Musicians Dave Boyd (percussionist) and Ashley MacIsaac ( fiddler/composer) match Devine in personality and talent. Like Stomp and Tap Dogs before them, they make bone-shaking music and dance with every available surface. But there is something in the raw grit and warm generosity of this trio that has more sparkle than any of the big glitzy shows. Tapeire is a sure-fire Fringe hit, but Baby Belly may have to practise its own economy of space: demand for tickets is sure to outstrip seats.

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