Show stopper Roxane Butterfly will perform tap dance infused with Flamenco and Middle Eastern styles at the 12th annual New Mexico Tap Dance Jam on July 23 and 24.
Butterfly’s appearance is a special happening for Albuquerque, as she usually only performs in big cities like New York or Chicago, Liz Salganek, producer of Tap Dance Jam, said.
“She is incredibly virtuosic and has a unique style no one else has. … It is an incredible opportunity to see her perform,” Salganek said. “She has one of the most creative styles for the fact that she incorporates so many types of world music and dance influences.”
Butterfly frequently travels to Africa and the Middle East and a lot of her musical influence and dance styles are derived from there, Salganek said.
Bill Evans, an eminent dancer and founder of the N.M. Tap Dance Jam, will perform several times this weekend after taking a hiatus from the Jam for the past three years. Evans is a dance professor at the SUNY Brockport and taught at UNM for 16 years.
Evans said rhythm is an international language that communicates to people of diverse backgrounds.
“Wherever I go, people love my tap dancing,” Evans said. “It doesn’t matter what culture it is. Rhythm crosses cultural boundaries, and people respond to rhythm. I think it unites all people on the planet, no matter what culture we come from.”
Jackie Oliver, the artistic director of National Dance Institute of New Mexico and of the Tap Dance Jam, is Evans’ former student and has known him since she was 8 years old. She is also a part of the New Mexico Rhythm Tap Ensemble that includes Jesse Martinez, Robbie Peterson and Zane Barker, all of whom are performing this weekend.
Other local groups performing include Fishback Studio of the Dance, Johnnie’s School of Dance, Marshall’s Performing Arts Conservatory and students of NDI-NM, the co-host of the Jam with UNM’s Department of Theater and Dance.
Oliver said there will also be live musicians playing at the performances.
Salganek said the Tap Dance Jam is eclectic in age and in styles of tap.
“It’s really going to be an incredible range of styles of tap. You will see every style of tap during the
evening,” she said.
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