GOING GA GA OVER GARCIA – TAP DOGS IN REVIEW

Yes! That man has still got it – 10 years have passed by since Adam Garcia tapped his way through the movie Bootmen, since then his profile has sky rocketed to celebrity status and he can still tap those toes like no tomorrow. It’s been 16 years since Dein Perry’s Tap Dogs made its premiere at Sydney Festival and it has gone on to be performed the world over and Sydney is lucky enough to have the ‘Dogs in town for a limited season!
Adam Garcia and his entourage of 5 talented tappers carry us through 90 minutes of high energy, speedy, hot and sweaty numbers. The personalities of the guys are utterly engaging, they are hilarious, though there’s no dialogue what these guys do via body language has us in stitches. The boys bust out tap steps with such spunk and masculinity they really bring a whole new meaning to the traditional tap steps like time-steps, shuffles and wings.
The boys take us through a variety of scenes all performed on the industrial/construction site-inspired set. They manipulate the set and perform on slides and ladders, one guy taps upside down, the boys do a number where they each tap on a certain spot making a different musical sound so they create their own musical soundtrack by tapping it out. The show finishes up with all 6 Tap Dogs tapping in trays of water, the visual effect is fantastic!(Be mindful that if you sit in the first 4 rows, you’ll be given an attractive poncho to wear to guard from the sprays of water!) The Tap Dogs are accompanied musically by two blondes belting out beats and when they have water poured on their drum kits it sprays out with every hit which looks awesome!
One of the stand out moments of the night for me was when the six Tap Dogs form a line and tap out this crazy number with basketballs. Tapping, drilling, bouncing and throwing the balls with impeccable timing. I just couldn’t believe how spot-on they were, they did not miss a beat or a bounce!
By the encore, tongues were wagging and the enthused crowd got to their feet with a well deserved standing OV. Tap Dogs are only here for about 6 weeks, so get on down and check these guys out!
Emma Bell is a writer, reviewer and interviewer and can be found at www.emmabell.com.au