The international sensation TAP DOGS is leaving dents on stages all across North America.  Created by Oliver Award-winning choreographer Dein Perry, with a construction site set by eclectic designer/director Nigel Triffitt and a driving score by composer Andrew Wilkie, TAP DOGS is rough, tough, rocking theatrical entertainment – part theater, part dance, part rock concert and is bursting onto the stage of the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts Saturday, October 24 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.  For tickets call 586.286.2222.

Australian Dein Perry, creator and choreographer of TAP DOGS, has come a long way from the make-shift dance school in Newcastle, a steel town north of Sydney, where, as young boys, he and the future dogs learned how to tap.  At the age of 17, with no opportunities in sight for a dancing career, he earned his union papers and worked as an industrial machinist for six years.  He then moved to Sydney where he tried to break into show business.  Small chorus parts in Broadway-style musicals led to Dein’s big break when he was cast in the long-running Sydney production of 42nd Street.  When it closed, Dein decided to create a contemporary show around the themes of his industrial experience with his Newcastle tap dancing mates.

With a small government grant, Dein contacted his old friends, who had also taken up various “real” jobs by this time, and formed Tap Brothers, an early incarnation of TAP DOGS.  From this, Dein was offered the chance to choreograph the West End musical, Hot Shoe Shuffle, which brought the group to London and earned Dein his Olivier Award in 1995.  A subsequent offer from the Sydney Theatre Company led to the collaboration with designer and director Nigel Triffitt; which resulted in the creation of TAP DOGS.

TAP DOGS was the instant hit of the Sydney Theatre Festival, where it had its world premiere in January 1995, and caused an equal sensation at the Edinburgh Festival later that year.  Since then TAP DOGS has performed at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, the 2002 Common Games in Manchester, England and earned 11 international awards, including the Obie Award in New York.

The TAP DOGS story went on to be immortalized in the movie Bootmen, directed by Dein Perry and inspired by his TAP DOGS experiences.  The stage show continues to wow audiences all over the world.

“These fantastic dancers tap together, tap alone, tap fast, tap slow, tap in simple and complex rhythms, tap on water, tap with basketballs and iron rods, tap hanging upside down suspended from ropes and just when you are beginning to become numb to the skill, they tap on ladders while showering a solo tappist with sparks from angle grinders.  They tap on moving parts and chasms of Nigel Triffitt’s industrial stage sets as new scenes are created around them, and tap into a frenzied climax as the set is gradually deconstructed, the steps grow more and more complicated and everyone ends up covered in water ( don’t worry raincoats are provided for those in the first row!)” Wikipedia

Ticket prices range from $17 to $52 with discounts available for students, senior citizens, military personnel (both active and retired with a valid military I.D.), and groups of 20 or more.  Purchase tickets in person at the Macomb Center box office Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. and Friday 12 - 6 p.m.  The Macomb Center for the Performing Arts is located on Macomb College's Center Campus at 44575 Garfield Road in Clinton Township, Michigan 48038.  Tickets and additional information, including a complete season schedule, are available online at www.MacombCenter.com or by calling 586.286.2222.

TAP DOGS is sponsored by Barton Malow, Culinary Expressions, First State Bank, Hampton Inn, Macomb Monthly and the Macomb Center’s premiere sponsors for the 2009-2010 season AT&T, The Macomb Daily and National City. 

About the Macomb Center
The Macomb Center for the Performing Arts is a community enrichment program of Macomb College dedicated to providing a diverse range of family-oriented cultural enrichment experiences.  The Macomb Center presents high-quality professional performances, offers educational outreach in the arts and, in partnership with the adjacent Albert L. Lorenzo Cultural Center, creates unique opportunities for multifaceted cultural programming. 

Media contact:
Sandy Hazelton
586.226.4737
hazeltons@macomb.edu