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Rhythmic Circus: Feet Don't Fail Me Now

 
Natalie Blow Review by Natalie Blow 5 Published: 24 Aug 2014 Assembly Hall Show Dates: 31 Jul 2014-25 Aug 2014

Their explosive opening truly astounded the crowd, as a seven-piece live funk band and four homegrown Minneapolis hoofers hit the stage. As the eleven sprightly performers chanted the catchy refrain Feet Don’t Fail Me Now, there was certainly no doubt that these guys knew how to mark their presence on stage. Striking the stage floor with their percussive thumpers, the hoofers had the crowd tapping along in no time.

Following one hour of non-stop smiles, laughs, foot tapping and knee slapping, you’ll be sure to have a spring in your step all the way home.

Radiating energy bounced off the walls at Assembly Rainy, as the charismatic troupe tapped, clapped and whacked their way into the audience’s souls. With four snappy dancers incessantly tapping away, at times you wondered whether they’d make it to the end of the show – but they always bounced back, harder, faster and somehow always impeccably in time.

These rhythmical geniuses have a natural charm to get people moving from their seats, luring the crowd up onto their feet to twiddle their hips and pulling others up onto stage. It was inspirational to see how the audience really came to life.

With a tasteful blend of music, dance, comedy and character, it came to everyone’s wonderment how it was possible to fit so much talent on one small stage. As the show bounced its way along, a member from the cast known as ‘HeatBox’, the human beatbox, unexpectedly stepped from behind the bongos and onto the mic. Heatbox’s beatboxing episode added texture and variation to the performance (as if there’s not enough already) and was arguably amongst some of the most innovative beatboxing performed to date.

One of the many climaxes of this sell-out show resided in the beatbox v.s. tappers battle. This original composite of diverse musical flares was highly interesting and entertaining. In turn each tapper played the floor like a Buddy Rich drum solo, in an attempt to overthrow the syncopated fluency of Heatbox’s beats. This show is unbelievably packed to the brim with percussive treats!

Following one hour of non-stop smiles, laughs, foot tapping and knee slapping, you’ll be sure to have a spring in your step all the way home.

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The Blurb:

Home-grown hoofers from the USA hit the road with a trunk full of tap shoes, funky costumes and a big brass band, ready to burst onto the stage with Feet Don't Fail Me Now! Heatbox the human beatbox joins the swingin' seven-piece funk band to accompany each tap, shuffle, and stomp with a clang, riff and refrain. In this joyous parade of genre-hopping music and hard-hitting percussive dance, you'll be jumping out of your seat and dancing to the beat! Winner of the Mervyn Stutter Spirit of the Fringe Award!