Tap team members let their feet do the talking

Even the least coordinated of people could find themselves happily bouncing their feet to the sounds of tap shoes at the UConn Tap Team's fifth annual Tap Show on Tuesday in the E.O. Smith High School Auditorium. The showcase, which included performances from various dance and a cappella groups around campus, displayed an impressive array of choreography and music selection that would have inspired any poor schmuck to jump out of his seat and dance.

The Tap Team put together the show to fundraise for Dancers Responding to AIDS (DRA), a Broadway-based program that promotes AIDS awareness and raises money to go toward AIDS research. According to DRA's official Web site, participants like the Tap Team vow that "when AIDS is stopped, we'll dance for joy. For now, we'll dance for life."

And dance they did. The show opened with an engaging tap dance to The Sopranos theme song "Woke Up This Morning." The dancers wore bow ties, black pants, white shirts and hats, emphasizing the mob appeal behind the popular HBO-series' song.

The dance itself was an appropriate fusion of hip-hop and tap, giving an edgy feel to the usually classical dance form.

The other tap team performances continued to build upon the team's already impressive start. The team's small group, which featured six of the team's members, showcased their original choreography to the Pussycat Dolls' "When I Grow Up," another choice that added a sassy twist to conservative tap. The team also performed a dance to Kanye West's "Love Lockdown," which demonstrated that tap can hold its own next to pop and hip hop - and with a lot of attitude.

The team also infused a Latin taste to one of its numbers. Michael Bublé's rendition of the seductive "It Had Better Be Tonight" made its way into the program, complete with touches of salsa, ruffled skirts, and sultry choreography.

The team's music choices were mostly unusual for the type of dance they performed, but the array demonstrated the timelessness of tap.

"The variety of music was good," said Nina Hunter, a 3rd-semester political science major. "They used a lot of both jazz and hip hop."

The team finished its portion of the program with a jazzy rendition of conventional tap in a number called "The Spinning Wheel."

Other dance groups performed in support of the tap team. The UConn's Tap Club performed, as well as the All-Stars step group and the UConn Dance Company. The Dance Company performed a techno hip-hop number to Missy Elliot's "Bad Man" and then a touching lyrical ballet dance to the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

The end of this number was one of the more poignant moments of the show - the dancers all lined up so the audience could read the message written across their shirts, which spelled "Together."

All the dance groups had the audience dazzled.

"It was phenomenal," said Dana Friedman, a 2nd-semester political science major. "The choreography was incredible."

The show also included guest performances by two of UConn's co-ed a cappella groups, Extreme Measures and A Minor. Extreme Measures opened with a chilling rendition of Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats." A Minor's set included an especially entertaining version of Alanis Morissette's "You Learn."

"I really liked Extreme Measures," said Ashley Esak, an 8th-semester human development and family studies major. "They were really good."