With CAN YOU HEAR US NOW? Chicago Tap Theatre presents an original show directed by Molly Smith. CAN YOU HEAR US NOW? featured a series of original choreography from CTT dancers inspired by, referencing, and in honor of historical figures in tap dance and jazz music history from the LGBTQIA+ community. Part archival research project, part live show, this show combined tap history with the state of tap dance today, with a focus on LGBTQIA+ perspectives. The production was a celebration of queer culture and history through the eyes (and shoes) of the dancers themselves.
CAN YOU HEAR US NOW? THE QUEER TAP DANCE REVOLUTION, performed at the Edge Theatre, is Molly Smith's directorial debut, and a fine job she made of it! Each production was choreographed by a Chicago Tap Theatre (CTT) member or apprentice, including Molly herself. Her solo performance, to Lesley Gore’s You Don’t Own Me, was stunning and clearly heartfelt. She further discussed the connection she sees between tap dance and queerness.
Mark Yonally (he/him) is the founder and Artistic Director of Chicago Tap Theatre, one of the most critically well-regarded dance companies in Chicago. They perform an annual three-show season in Chicago and tour throughout both America and Europe. Their performances have been chosen as the Top Ten Dance events of the year by the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, SeeChicagoDance and Windy City Media. CTT’s stated mission is to share the creativity, the history, and the pure joy of tap dance; these were clearly illustrated in CAN YOU HEAR US NOW?
The set was purposefully and effectively nearly neutral; not so the lighting! which was refashioned to enhance each piece.
The intervals between pieces were very short, which was useful for the most part. However, their duration might have been adjusted to coordinate with the mood of the dances, particularly near the end, with more emotionally charged pieces: Molly Smith’s solo, and the dance commemorating our martyrs to the AIDS epidemic. Here the rapid interruptions felt hurried and forced.
