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Nov. 20--Many elements of "BoomBach," which got its North American premiere over the weekend at the Museum of Contemporary Art, are familiar.
Tapeplas, the engaging company behind it, calls to mind "Stomp," "Tap Dogs" and here and there a hint of Blue Man Group. That said, it's an international delight all its own, formed by folks with an Israeli background, who debuted in New York and are now based in Barcelona. Their influences are broadly Mediterranean, yet they boast an impishness reminiscent of new vaudeville.
They visited as part of the Chicago Human Rhythm Project's engagement, which will conclude this weekend at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance with performances by Israeli troupe Sheketak.
The one-hour "BoomBach" begins when drummer Yaron Engler peeks outside the curtain, disappears and then returns, creating something of a clownlike mood of timidity, if not outright paranoia, at the very notion of performing in public.
That proves, of course, to be temporary, but it hints at the little bits of comedy and tragicomedy that keep erupting. The dancers emerge gradually, at first with glimpses of heads and hands, from behind small stairway constructions that evolve into major set pieces. The first appearance of a woman dancer startles the small gang of boylike men, while a whirl of purple lights that dots one side of the stage takes on all manner of symbols, from a swarm of fantasy bugs to something more enticing, if still deadly.
Throughout all the bits of circus and pantomime, the troupe delivers inventive, eye-catching percussive dance, sprinkled here and there with arresting and sometimes funny modern moves, as when the dancers rock back and forth in a bit all about an imaginary spasm that grabs them like a curse. Artistic director Sharon Lavi (a marvelous dancer himself), with help from co-choreographer Mandy Kol, delivers tap beautifully integrated with full-body movement and design, most wondrously to the section of the piece set to Bach.
Also Friday, three engaging women delivered "Charlie's Angels," Jason Samuels Smith's tribute to jazz great Charlie Parker. Smith ably demonstrates that tap can adapt to more mercurial jazz rhythms, and each of the women gets to show off in a smart solo. Ayodele Casel boasts a diminutive intensity, Chloe Arnold is forceful and bright and Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards moves her feet at such a speed they almost blur.
The Chicago Human Rhythm's engagement continues Friday and Saturday at the Harris, 205 E. Randolph Drive. Tickets: 312-334-7777.
sismith@tribune.com
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Copyright (c) 2006, Chicago Tribune
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