xVancouver Tap Dance Society
151 Red - Swingin' Time

Dates and Venue Aug. 29 at 8pm | Norman Rothstein Theatre, 950 W. 41st Ave.

Reviewer Ed Farolan

The 16th Annual Vancouver International Tap Festival was swingin' all right with Derick Grant's 151 RED - Swingin’ Time. It was short and sweet--45 minutes-- but the crowd loved it and even asked for an encore which Grant and his co-dancers RONxII and Emma Wylie obliged to with their acapella style tap dancing.

Naturally, the center of atraction was hip-hop-looking Derick Grant, with his winter tuk on, as he amused the audience with his comic gestures, getting us all to laugh at his moves. Emma Wylie was lovely in her red dress. Wylie is an emerging presence in the tap community, while RONxII is one of the most sought after tap dancers throughout Asia.

The band (Michaek Creber, piano; Buff Allen, drums; Rene Worst, bass) was fabulous with their Duke Ellington tunes as the dancers tapped along with the music. Its vocalist Jennifer Scott reminded me of Peggy Lee. What a jazzy voice!

This was another delightful evening despite the wind and storm outside which caused a lot of brownouts and trees falling all over Metro Vancouver.

© 2015 Ed Farolan