Amazing, fascinating, electrifying, energetic, upbeat, stunning, surprising and unbelievable are just a few words to describe the performance of Tap Dogs, a dance group that put on a marvelous show at Stockton on September 22nd. A group of about eight talented men graced the Performing Arts Center’s stage with their impeccable tap dancing ability. I was in awe of their talents from the moment the show began to the end of their third encore. The talent of each and every one of the men was out of this world, and the stunts they pulled were insane, yet utterly incredible.
The beginning of the show consisted of each dancer allowing the audience to become familiar with their unique talent. The dancers would then unite as one and perform a group dance. These group dances were phenomenal to say the least. If I closed my eyes, it sounded as if there was one person dancing on the stage, when in reality there were eight. They were so uniform and in sync with one another that it blew the audience members away. The men were upbeat and made the whole experience really enjoyable.
I must say that I was in shock and horror for the second half of the performance. The men started performing crazy stunts that could have easily injured them. One man tapped upside down on a metal board overheard while his fellow dancers held him in that position by only rope. It was thrilling to watch and kept the performance suspenseful and most definitely unique. The dancers also jumped on and off of ladders tapping intensely and in rhythm, which was pure genus. It was amazing to watch, for the choreography was simply breathtaking. There was also a dance routine to the sounds of firearms which was frightening but exhilarating all at the same time. The things they could do with their feet were at times truly awe inspiring. Tap dances were performed on a variety of unusual surfaces throughout the entire show including water, metal and steel. The metal and steel created unique and majestic sounds and spiced up the performance.
Water was indeed the most creative surface though. In fact, my favorite part of the whole show was when the dancers all arrived on stage wearing rain boots. I became very confused due to the fact that it is practically impossible to get any other sound out of a rain boot other than a squeak, let alone an impressive tap. I was wrong. They all sat down on a bench with a large container of water in front of them and began stepping in and out of the water simultaneously, creating an interesting yet appealing sound. It was one of the coolest moments of the show. This whole scene was choreographed and the stage became soaked with water. It was extremely creative and quickly became my favorite scene.
Once they changed out of the boots and back into their beloved tap shoes, they danced around and tapped in the water still left on the stage, splashing the rows of people in the front. It was extremely amusing and the guys were nothing short of entertaining and hilarious. They received four standing ovations from the audience and myself and performed three encores that were absolutely fantastic and adequately portrayed the amount of talent this spectacular dance troupe contained.
I am so glad I was able to go see this amazing show. I tried to describe what I saw to the best of my abilities so those of you who could not attend can get a sense of the magnificent talent gracing the stage. If they happen to come to Stockton again in the future I suggest to everyone that they buy a ticket right away. Tap Dogs is a must see show and a truly spectacular performance that simply cannot be missed.