I have always found there to be something evocative about tap dancing, the way that a visual counterpart to the music becomes part of it. One of the sounds that still stays with me is the moment, part of the way through a show by Bloolips (the gay cabaret and drag acting troupe) when Bette Bourne and the others came on in tap shoes, the noise they made distinctive. And you just knew that whatever they were dressed in, whatever unlikely scenario, it was going to end in a glorious tap number
The above wonderful little snippet, post on Instagram this week by the American dancer and choreographer James B Whiteside, comes from a longer video made in 2020. James explains 'I made a holiday special to raise money to provide dance floors to young dancers unable to train in studios during Covid lockdowns. The dancing kids in the back are the real stars though. The whole thing is on YouTube, if you’re curious. It’s called James Whiteside’s Fancy Nut Mix, and it is very homemade, completely unhinged, and totally a product of the pandemic. If you like me, you’ll like it, but if you think I’m annoying, I recommend a hard pass.'
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| Bloolips, Yum Yum, 1983, performance still. Courtesy: Bloolips Archive, Bishopsgate Institute, London |
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