Anniversary tour takes 'Tap Dogs' to the Phillips Center Feb. 1

January 20, 2006

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Take a group of performers from Australia, the United States and Canada, add two-time Olivier Award-winning choreographer Dein Perry, eclectic designer/director Nigel Triffit and composer Andrew Wilkie, and you get “Tap Dogs” – part theater, part dance, part rock concert, part party, part construction site – a rough, tough and rocking reinvention of tap.

“Tap Dogs” plays at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 1.

Perry, creator of “Tap Dogs,” has come a long way from the makeshift dance school in Newcastle, a steel town north of Sydney, Australia, where, as young boys, he and the future “dogs” learned how to tap. At 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 Perry’s big break when he was cast in the long-running Sydney production of “42nd Street.” When it closed, he decided to create a contemporary show around the themes of his industrial experience with his Newcastle tap dancing mates.

With a small government grant, Perry 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.” A subsequent offer from the Sydney Theatre Company led to the collaboration with designer and director Nigel Triffit, 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. It made its North American debut at Montreal’s “Just for Laughs” festival in August 1996. The show then played to critical acclaim on a limited North American tour prior to an engagement in New York City, where Perry earned a 1997 Drama Desk nomination for “Best Choreography” and the show received a 1997 Obie Award. Since its debut, “Tap Dogs” has toured extensively throughout North America, Europe, Australia and the Far East. Most recently, the show celebrated its 10th anniversary with tours of Australia, Germany, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Now, the celebration continues with the 2006 tour of North America.

Tickets are: $35, front orchestra and mezzanine; $30, mid-orchestra; $25, rear orchestra; $20, balcony. Rush tickets for seats in the balcony may be available day of show for $10.

Tickets to University of Florida Performing Arts events are available by calling the Phillips Center Box Office at (352) 392-ARTS (2787) or (800) 905-ARTS (2787) or by faxing orders to (352) 846-1562. Tickets are also available at the University Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at (904) 353-3309. Cash, Visa and MasterCard are accepted. Group ticket sales are available.

Students must purchase tickets in person with student ID at the Phillips Center Box Office or at University Box Office in the Reitz Union. Each student may purchase only one student ticket per performance, for himself or herself only. Student tickets are subject to availability.

The Phillips Center Box Office is open noon to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and two hours prior to performance time.

Performance dates, times and programs are subject to change.