Pictured: "Dance of kings" performance stills Official picture
The uniform steps, the explosive dance, the wooden floor "taping" into a natural instrument, the magical dance steps "stepped on" out of the special rhythm. Just now, Michael Fraley, known as the "King of Tap Dance", came to Shanghai in advance to warm up for the tap dance "Dance of the King" that will land in Shanghai Culture Square on May 3.
If the "Dance of the Great River", which once swept China, gave Chinese audiences a first taste of the style of Irish national dance, then the high-end version of "Dance of the King" will let people see the extreme majesty of tap dance. Michael said: "'Dance of kings' is derived from an Irish folk legend, and I hope that this legend will be loved by people around the world along with the tap dance steps." ”
It is worth mentioning that the Chinese dancer Huang Doudou, as a special guest, exchanged each other's dancing shoes with Michael on the spot, and Huang Doudou frankly said: "The unique national cultures of various ethnic groups are painted together into the colorful and colorful world culture, and I also hope that this pair of dancing shoes in my hand can bring our traditional Chinese culture to the world stage." ”
As the "first tap dancer" jointly certified by the presidents of the United States and Ireland, Michael Fleury single-handedly created two classic dance dramas in the history of tap dance: "The Dance of the Great River" and "The Dance of the King", and completely changed the performance style and style of Irish tap dance, making Irish tap dance one of the mainstream dances in the world. On the one hand, he successfully integrated his thinking about Irish history and reality into the dance drama, and on the other hand, he successfully introduced the advanced production and stage special effects of Broadway, realizing the perfect fusion of tradition and modernity, making dance a new business card of Irish culture.
The upcoming "Dance of the Kings", which is about to tour China, is different from the original "Dance of the Great River" pure tap showmanship, it really uses tap dance narrative, so that the army of light and darkness launches a shocking duel, behind the flying hormones, creating a magical and magical Irish cultural journey.
The play's choreography subverts the stereotypical forms of traditional Irish tap dance, incorporating Irish taps, American taps, and many non-tap dance performance elements in the performance. The tap dance line pioneered by Michael Flelli was taken to the extreme in Dance of Kings.
The musician of Dance of Kings, Gerald Farch, is a highly innovative musician. He turned Michael Fryley's elaborate "myth" into a rhythmic melody, creating a second vision for the audience. In addition to traditional Celtic music, Dance of Kings boldly introduces more modern musical elements, such as electronic music, jazz music, and rock music. The music is born with the narrative, so that the whole soundtrack is full of the characteristics of the Hollywood movie soundtrack, the music when the women dance like feathers falling marble, and the male dance music is as shocking as a landslide, which is a high degree of unity between music and dance.
In addition, the costume design in the play also reflects more postmodern characteristics, directly outlining the characteristics of the two camps that are opposing each other with bright large color blocks, and using black leather corsets and shorts to dress up beautiful dancing girls more sexy and charming. Male dancers highlight the charm of men. At the same time, the use of a large number of gold makes the stage golden and dazzling.
What is particularly special is that the scene will change in line with the development of the storyline, organically combining the dramatic conflict, the dazzling of the dance itself and the effect of the stage lighting, reflecting the right beauty, the giant radiation flat screen, special effects lighting, ultra-wide stage design, dancing robots... All kinds of elements are integrated, bringing the audience the general feeling of watching a naked-eye 3D movie.
It is reported that "Dance of the King" will be performed in Shanghai Cultural Square from May 3. (Xinmin Evening News reporter Zhu Yuan)