Some things just do not mix, no matter how clever the treatment, like oil and water -- or tap dance and modern dance. Both tap and modern have long histories and each has a precise vocabulary; envisioning Martha Graham and Jimmy Slyde appearing side by side in a dance number, one in bare feet and one in black tap oxfords, is a stretch.
Apparently, Barry Blumenfeld disagrees. His company, Tap Fusion -- "a new performance genre" -- was seen recently at the Duke in "Seven Blessings," a full-length work based on the traditions of a Jewish wedding ceremony. Using tap time steps to illustrate the depth and emotionality of religious blessings turned out to be more of an irritable experience than a unique one.
The program was dedicated to the long-running marriages of Blumenfeld's parents and his wife's parents, with a reverential acknowledgement of his wife, April Cantor, for both her inspiration and her work on the video portion of the program. In the beginning, in an effort to entertain the audience looking for seats, a video of Blumenfeld's wedding was shown (over and over again) with the newlyweds and both sets of parents being hoisted above the crowd in chairs while the invitees frolicked below. The film served as a rousing opening, all the farther to fall once the live performers took over.
The first two blessings (of the seven) were group dances with meandering choreography underlined by the intrusive sounds of the tapping, saved by the pleasant background music -- a melding of strange instruments, sounds of fingers circling half-full bowls of water, plus clarinet and violin. The third blessing was a solo performed by Jennifer Uzzi.
Uzzi appeared on stage in what looked like a foundation garment with feathers sewed on. Perhaps inspired by the words in the program, "recognizing and appreciating the blessing of being human," she began to slap herself (in rhythmic patterns), redden her skin, sweat, and breathe heavily -- and she looked simply awful. Earlier in the week, the front page of The New York Times printed pictures of Shiites flogging themselves in their religious ceremonies. The comparison seemed too close for comfort.
