When he hits the ground with his foot, Travis Knights summons the centuries of tap dance tradition carried by the African American community. When he looks up to the sky, he invites his elders to encourage him.
Among these elders, there is Ethel Bruneau, the very one who taught tap dancing to Travis when he was twelve years old. Now 86, Ethel Bruneau, once known as Miss Swing or the Queen of Tap Dance, brought the winds of change that blew through Harlem in the 1940s and 1950s to Montreal.
Friday, Ethel Bruneau will attend the show Ephemeral Artifacts, which Travis Knights presents at Montreal, arts interculturels (MAI) starting May 12. “I’m going to try not to cry,” slips the dancer, who today is said to be the best tap dancer in Canada. “I’m emotional about her attending one of my shows. She opened the world to me. She taught me the passion for dance. I married one of his former students. Ethel Bruneau is more than family to me. And this dance is more than an occupation. It’s my life. She will hear her voice, in this context, with all the respect that I try to devote to her, at the same time as the voice of her contemporaries. »
Combining dance, music, video and sound interventions, Ephemeral Artifacts is much more than a simple demonstration of tap dancing. It’s a journey through the history of this type of dance. “Always ask yourself on whose shoulders you are perched”, questions, in English, the voice of Ethel Bruneau in the show. In other words, “what culture are you from? Many of the excerpts broadcast were recorded as part of the podcast Tap Love Tour by Travis Knights, which spans the history of tap dancing in 112 episodes.
Indeed, it is in the Afro-American community that tap dancing developed, among others in contact with Irish communities, in the 19th century.and century. The slaves saw in this art a way of preserving their culture. Since then, May 25 has been designated as International Tap Dancing Day, in memory of the birthday of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, a pioneer in the field, who made his tap dancing resound in Hollywood at the start of the 20th century.and century. Robinson notably challenged the racist practice that a black person always had to perform with someone else, and that someone else was often a white person sporting a blackface. Moreover, Fred Astaire himself wore the blackface to embody and make fun of Bill Robinson in one of his most famous films, Swing-Tlove.
The Travis Knights show is as much a music show as it is a dance show. The artist has also installed a microphone under his shoes, and uses the repercussions of sound to create special effects.
Vibrations for the Deaf
Ephemeral Artifacts is also an opportunity to implement new technology. These are “vibrotactile” belts and vests. Initially designed for deaf or hard of hearing audiences, this technology captures the sounds of the show and translates them into vibrations, which the person connected to the device feels against their body.
“This technology was designed at Ryerson University” in Toronto, explains David Bobier. “I was working on setting up a theater chair for the deaf. So, I wanted to take this technology to the community. This technology can also be incorporated into walls, rugs, or pillows, which can be used by people in wheelchairs.
For Travis Knights, sound is an extremely important element of a tap dance performance. “The wooden panels on which I dance are part of my instrument. The richness of the wood makes all the difference,” he says.
Moreover, the transmission of vibrations from tap dancing is entirely in the heritage of Ethel Bruneau, who also worked for the inclusion of disabled children.