2000s
Between 2001 and 2005 many one-off projects followed including embarking on a North American Workshop Tour in 2001 and 2002 where he taught over 3,000 dance enthusisasts the art form of Irish Dance. In 2004 he performed on tour with Jose Feliciano, six-time Grammy Award winning Guitarist. In March 2005 he was invited as Special Guest Artist with "Ragus" International Irish Dance Show on their Eastern European Tour.
Later that year he began his career directional change by returning to New York City, immersing himself in tap dancing and in exploring the percussive side of Irish dance as it influenced and was influenced by other genres in tap.
In February 2006 James left New York City to begin work on a new solo project, TAPEIRE; which premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the summer of 2006 to critical acclaim. This multimedia work (dance, music, percussion, and archival film footage) saw Devine explore the vast historical spectrum of Irish dance presenting the dance as innovative expression not confined by the codified restrictions of ensemble line dancing in Irish shows.
After the success of Edinburgh Devine founded his own production entity "Devine Dance Company" and brought his TAPEIRE beat to North America with a three week sell-out Broadway residencey at the New Victory Theatre, a sell-out run at the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, preceded by a four week Canadian tour. Tapeire was also invited to perform on the popular daytime television show Live with Regis and Kelly in NYC.
Other highlights in 2007 included being invited to the International New Year celebrations at the World Trade Center in Hong Kong, China, where he led and taught tap dancing to more than 1,000 local and international dancers in an attempt at a 2,007-minute (33-hour) dance marathon.
2008 saw Devine devise a new production, CELTIC TAP, focusing his efforts on merging global music influences with his art. From Scottish, Irish & Cape Breton to jazz, rock, funk, country and classic hoofing, Devine marked his Boston Premiere at the ICA (Institute for Contemporary Arts) with sell-out shows and critical acclaim from the media.
"The sheer rhythmic invention of Devine's industrious feet set him well above the fray, and that includes "Riverdance" phenom Michael Flatley, who he left in the dust long ago." Karen Campbell, The Boston Globe
Read more about this topic: James Devine