Greeting, True Believers!
Tapman Productions is set to begin our new 2016 season beginning in August 18-28 with THRUST! at Stage 773 – a production featuring choreography from Tristan Bruns (me!), Kate O’Hanlon and Ian Berg. This performance was inspired by Ian’s piece at last year’s Audible Odyssey showcase. Ian’s choreography made use of all sides of the stage, effectively eliminating a “front” for the audience. I was thinking, “Man, I rarely see a thrust-style theatre used as is was meant to be used and this is a super hard way to dance, so I must try it, too!” And that is what we are doing. If you have the time, come see what can be found in the round.
In other news, our season last year was a success! The Adventures of Tapman got great reviews and was picked up for Stage 773’s Inoffensive Theatre Series, so if you missed it a year ago there are still monthly performances in “The Box” at Stage 773 until September.
Big shout out to Audience Architects for including members of Tapman Producions in their Annual Dance Month series of performances last April. Audience Architects are big supporters of TMP and Chicago dance in general, and check out SeeChicagoDance.com if you are looking to see some Chicago dance (.com).
Supreme Love, produced by Tapman Productions and Jumaane Taylor and featuring M.A.D.D. Rhythms, received rave reviews and is still going strong, with additional performances at the Hot House/Logan Center and Harold Washington Cultural Center following its initial run at the Athenaeum Theatre. And it is still going strong! Keep a look out for Supreme Love at the Made In Chicago festival in Poznan, Poland this May, at the Museum of Contemporary Arts as part of the Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s annual Rhythm World Festival this August and at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival this September. If you haven’t seen Jumaane Taylor’s epic tour-de-force (pardon my french) then come on out to any of the upcoming performances.
Now I am off to do some Uber driving – I know what your thinking, “Isn’t the lucrative career of a tap dancer enough for this guy?” I’m just happy to get Chicago moving – in more ways than one! Thanks for reading this to the end and for supporting Chicago art.
Excelsior!
Tristan Bruns – Artistic Director, Tapman Productions