|
 Nationally, RIS
has performed and presented residency activities at such venues
as Jacob's Pillow, the Krannert Center, the Flynn Theatre, the
Chautauqua Institute, Williams College, the Walton Art Center,
and Penn State University. In the past three years alone, the
Company has toured forty-four of the contiguous United States.
Rhythm In Shoes
has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts,
the Ohio Arts Council, Culture Works of Dayton, the Montgomery
County Arts and Cultural District, The Dayton Foundation,
Dance/USA's American Dance Touring Initiative, and the New
England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project.
Artistic Directors Leahy and Good have received numerous awards
and honors including fellowships from National Endowment for the
Arts and the Ohio Arts Council.
 2008-2009
TOURING PROGRAMS:
Banjo
Dance: A Celebration of American Spirit
The traditional music and
dance of the Southern Appalachians evolved from a coming
together - some might say a collision - of British Isles and
African cultures during the turbulent birth of our nation. What
came of this union is a body of uniquely American traditions
that expresses the joy and the sorrow, the heights and the
depths of human experience. Flatfooting,
clawhammer banjo playing, fiddling,
square dancing, sacred harp singing, story telling, honky-tonk
songs, balladry, clogging (both traditional and modern) are the
elements of old-time music and dance that we have grown to love
and made our own. We present them to you as wildflowers picked
from the field and carefully arranged for the stage. We bring
you a celebration of American spirit. Like many of the best
things in life, they are simple but not easy.
FROM THE REP:
A
Rhythm In Shoes repertory concert features traditional and
original dance and music drawn from the American forms of swing
songs and tap, oldtime tunes and clogging. The current rep
offers pieces like "Ladies Lunch"--a hilarious, rhythmic tour de
force set in a restaurant, and "Simple not Easy"--a moving
picture of life in the mountains accompanied by the bittersweet
sound of banjos and ballads. Every show is laced with wit
and wisdom.
 FAMILY FUN:
With knack for presenting material that is engaging to folks
from two to ninety-two and nearly twenty years of experience
doing it, Rhythm In Shoes is a surefire hit with the whole
family. Featuring high energy dance and music rooted in
American traditions and a steady flow of tasteful tomfoolery,
every show is laced throughout with wit and wisdom. Everyone is part of the show and excitement never stops.
Between laughs and gasps, you may even find yourself on stage!
"What a
phenomenal job Rhythm In Shoes did for the Victoria's Young At
Heart series. I have worked at the Victoria for ten years
and I rank your show up in the top three for Young At Heart
performances. When the audience members left, I heard more
positive comments than I have in a long time. Your
performances also garnered the first standing ovation I have
ever seen at a Young At Heart performance. I recommend
that every theatrical series in the country present Rhythm In Shoes. I guarantee that the
audiences will love you!" Tina McPhearson,
Programming Director, Victoria Theatre
SYMPHONY POPS:
Joining forces with conductor Neal Gittleman and the Dayton
Philharmonic Orchestra, RIS skillfully adapted current
repertoire to an orchestral setting and created new works to
classical favorites. Included is clogging and mayhem to
the William Tell Overture, a chance for hoofers from the
community to join in a Sousa flagwaver, and a delightfully
sophisticated treatment of the Gould Tap Concerto.
RESIDENCY
DESCRIPTIONS:
Concert
Performance:
Repertoire of original, contemporary work using
hands, feet, voices, bodies and a myriad of musical instruments:
60 - 120 minutes.
 Ensemble
Performance:
Designed for limited spaces using suitable pieces
from the repertoire. Six - Eight musicians and dancers: 60 - 90
minutes.
Children's
Programs:
Age appropriate material, 5 to 18 years, focusing on
the contagion of rhythm. These shows include old and newmusic
& dance, informative narrative and audience participation. 6
- 8 musicians and dancers, 45 minutes.
Social Dances:
Square dances with an old-time string band and swing dances with
a swing quartet (can include instruction). 90 - 120
minutes.
Senior
Programs:
Using the music and dance of their youth to engage and
reawaken older adults, from the active and on their feet, to the
less-abled. 45 - 60 minutes.
Master Classes:
Professional or college level, with live musical accompaniment.
60 - 90 minutes.
Percussive
Dance, Tap Dance or Clog Dance:
Beginner to advanced levels,
focusing on technique, choreographic sequences and
improvisation. (requires sprung, wooden floor).
Swing Dance:
Basic rhythms and steps of this, once again, popular social
dance, as well as more complicated moves and turn outs.
(requires sprung, wooden floor)
Choreography:
Explore the methods of composition used by RIS artistic
directors in sessions focusing on creative choices, tools of
construction, group dynamics, problem solving and the rewards of
the creative process. (any surface).
Community
Classes:
K - 12 or community level, with live musical
accompaniment. 60 - 90 minutes.
Rhythm
Awakening:
from the most basic rhythms of a heartbeat and a hand
clap to the overlaying hands, feet and voices of polyrhythmic
symphony, this workshop is conducted with the intention of
transmitting a sense of community, a heightened awareness of
self within the group and a new language for communication. (any
surface).
Movement
Basics:
explore the physical, aesthetic, social and creative
world of dance through the development of kinesthetic awareness,
body position and action; and intellectual awareness of how body
movement is controlled. Students are introduced to basic dance
class structure. (requires sprung, wooden floor).
WHAT THE CRITICS
SAY:
"A
foot-stomping, hand clapping amalgam of America's cultural
heritage...Percussive tension, emotional power and theatrical
depth...the total effect is mesmerizing..." Pittsburgh
Tribune
 "...a
rhythmic tour de force." The Columbus Dispatch
"...inventive,
whistle-clean...Really smart stuff." The Village Voice
"...a
company of first-rate dancers and superb musicians...a delight
from end to end...Leahy has created a whole new language by
combining straightforward step-dance moves with intriguing
shifts, turns, jumps and ensemble pattern...the musical and
spoken interludes combined with the dance to weave a colorful,
tightly knit tapestry..." The
Boston Globe
"...such
expressiveness, such unexpectedness that it almost makes you
gasp." Minneapolis Star Tribune
"...not
just lively and accomplished; it was intelligent, tasteful, and
provocative." Dance Magazine
"...Rhythm
in Shoes has the power to lift the audience out of their
seats..." The Berkshire Eagle
"Think of
an aesthetic as all inclusive as Walt Whitman's, with music and
tapping feet in place of poetry...What they do is as difficult
to describe as it is to forget." Reading Eagle/Times
"The
choreography turns rhythm into a three dimensional
experience." The Allentown Morning Call
"A Rhythm
in Shoes performance is much more than expected...Leahy and
dancers have the knack for making the simplest of ideas blossom
in multiple directions with wit and invention...a company that
adds body and mind to the flashing feet of clogging..."
Dayton Daily News
TECHNICAL
INFORMATION:
Rhythm In Shoes
is a dance and music company requiring full theatrical stage
lighting as well as up to date sound reinforcement.
Perhaps the first technical consideration in presenting an RIS
concert is the surface of the stage. It is the instrument
of the percussive dancer and must be a smooth, sprung wooden
floor, not laid directly on concrete and without a covering of
marley. Minimum sound requirements are: 24-channel mixing
board, 2 separate monitor sends, adequate amplification for the
space, 8-10 assorted mics with boomstands and all necessary
cabling. Please contact Artsource Management or the Rhythm
In Shoes office for a more detailed list of technical
requirements.
|
Under
the artistic leadership of dancer/choreographer, Sharon Leahy
and musician/composer Rick Good, Rhythm in Shoes presents
innovative work that is at once, original and recognizable.
