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Blockbuster percussive shows, like Stomp and Tap Dogs, rely on ordinary objects – brooms and trash can covers – to create new sounds. But Barbatuques is a true body band. The group of dancers and musicians from Sao Paolo, Brazil will make their Chicago debut May 29 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Theater. They’re part of the Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s spring concert, titled Windy City Rhythms Goes Global.Barbatuques began as a research project by musician Fernando Barba. He wanted to see how many ways the body could make music. This led to the founding of his group in 1996. For its Chicago performance, Barbatuques will find the most unexpected ways to make the body sing.Afro-Brazilian chants intersect with Portuguese rap. Tongue clicks mirror the sound of maracas and rushing waterfalls. When the performers tap on their puffed facial cheeks with their hands, they create complex harmonies – from a wooden flute to bird calls. They’ve even created six different ways to clap. The sounds include rapid-fire pops and quiet trickles. Their body percussion is so intricate that varying degrees of tonalities emerge. For example, pounding on the chest cavity with a flat palm results in a deep hollow sound. Drumming on the abdomen counters with high-pitch notes.Barbatuques will be joined by equally innovative American rhythmic-dance artists. Emmy Award-winning tap artist Jason Samuels Smith will perform a solo with his signature charisma and relaxed virtuosity. Samuels Smith made his Broadway debut at the age of 15 in Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk. He has worked closely with Savion Glover and helped create the tap program at Debbie Allen’s Dance Academy in Culver City, California.Lane Alexander’s five-year-old tap ensemble, BAM!, rounds out the program with silky-smooth moves to jazz and classical scores. The dancers are so polished, they easily move from elegant Golden Age of Tap stylings to quirky post-modern experiments.The Chicago Human Rhythm Project, headed by Lane Alexander, presents Windy City Rhythms Goes Global May 29 through 31 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Theatre, 220 E. Chicago Ave. |
