A cool Jazz Ensemble with five hot tap dancers
Directed and Choreographed by Danny Nielsen
Original Music Composed by Danny Nielsen and Noah Franche-Nolan
Arrangements by Dan Reynolds and Danny Nielsen
Dancers: Laura Donaldson, Elise McGrenera, Johnathan Morin, Danny Nielsen, Veronica Simpson
Musicians: Dan Reynolds (piano), Ken Lister (bass), Hans Verhoeven (drums)
Lighting Design by Jack Chipman
Improvisation by all Dancers and Musicians
In this iteration of On Foot, Dan Reynolds brings his considerable musical direction expertise and piano chops to the evening where he will work with local musicians, Ken Lister (bass), Hans Verhoeven (drums), to weave the cool sounds of jazz with the heat of tap by Danny Nielsen, Laura Donaldson, Elise McGrenera, Johnathan Morin, Veronica Simpson
Danny has been producing and presenting work since 2013 and also has toured globally as a soloist. Danny has two main mantras in his work. To use live musicians in his work and to make his work accessible to audiences. His full length first project Love.Be.Best.Free was created with the aid of the Santa Aloi Award for the Scotiabank Dance Centre and premiered at the DC in 2013. The show later toured on the Made in BC circuit in 2017 with the aid of Canada Council for the Arts. His most recent creation On Foot was molded in Calgary with the aid of Decidedly Jazz Danceworks Creative Residency program and premiered at DJD in October 2019. With the aid of Canada Council, the show also premiered in Vancouver as a part of Dance In Vancouver’s off programming.
Created in 2019, On Foot presents tap dance in a traditional concert setting yet pushes the boundaries of the art form. Traditionally in a concert setting, tap dance is done to jazz music with each dancer calling a jazz standard and improvising to it. Wanting to expand past the confinements of working to jazz standards, Danny Nielsen and Noah Franche-Nolan collaborated to create original music and new takes on old standards. Featuring choreography by Danny Nielsen and NYC’s Lisa La Touche, five of Western Canada’s finest tap dancers introduce audiences to the beauty of tap dance visually while engaging their auditory senses through the rawness of cutting edge improvisation, captivating rhythms and memorable melodies. Backed by a trio of some of Vancouver’s best musicians and lighting design/direction by one of Vancouver’s most brilliant dance minds Shay Kuebler, this high energy and fast paced show will leave audiences wanting more.
