Tap Dogs - The Show

The Show

The original production of "Tap Dogs" was 80 minutes long with no interval and featured six Australian men performing non-stop tap dance routines on a set that was designed to appear like a construction site. The staging of the show was intended to represent the steel making community in which the original dancers had grown up, whilst also appealing to the modern dance audience. It is recognised for its simple costuming of faded jeans, lumberjack shirts, vests and baseball caps, although the key feature and 'trademark' of the Tap Dogs, are the specially modified boots that the dancers wear. These are in fact 'Blundstone' boots, one of Australia's most iconic brands. The company is an official supporter of the show worldwide and provides boots with specially prepared soles, fitted with metal plates to the toe and heel areas, which are then 'beaten' on the ground to create the 'tap' sounds.

The primary theme of the show Alone, in groups and all together these nine fantastic dancers tap together, tap alone, tap fast, tap slow, tap in simple and complex rhythms, tap on water, tap with basketballs and iron rods, tap hanging upside down suspended from ropes, and, just when you are beginning to become numb to the skill, they tap on ladders while showering a solo tappist with sparks from angle grinders. They tap on the moving parts and chasms of Nigel Triffitt's industrial stage sets as new scenes are created around them, and tap into a frenzied climax as the set is gradually deconstructed, the steps grows more and more complicated, and everyone ends up covered in water (raincoats are provided for those in the first row).