Tap dance Helen Duffy / Janne Eraker
Choreography Janne Eraker Light and sound Jorg Schellekens Concept Jorg Schellekens + Janne Eraker Outside eye Erik Kaiel Duration: ca 40 min. |
Premiere April 2, 2022, at Oslo Teatersenter
Shows at: Motel Mozaïque, Rotterdam Grusomhetens teater, Oslo DanseFestival Barents, Hammerfest RAS, Sandnes |
If tap dance still makes you think about musicals with Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, then Tap Noir will change that in a rapid tempo. This is a piece for one dancer and three stroboscopic lights, connected by contact microphones and piezo pickups. Together they work like an instrument of sorts, enabling the dancer to “play” the light and sound. A tsunami of optical illusions and strange rhythms takes you on a surreal trip, where you don't know what is real anymore.
Beware, this piece is not suitable for people with epilepsy.
Residencies at Notam, Bureau Dégradé, Dansateliers, Oslo Teatersenter
Beware, this piece is not suitable for people with epilepsy.
Residencies at Notam, Bureau Dégradé, Dansateliers, Oslo Teatersenter
Rarely has a dry warning about the use of strobes turned out to be so timely as here, because the piece Tap Noir is a lot like a 45-minute fever dream. I am slightly nauseous, and I love it. Scenekunst.no
A work that triggers many thoughts about art, and how we express art today. In an eternal blinking light we get everything from Japanese horror imitations to memories from our own childhood, from when we drew little, jumping stick men in the corner of some schoolbook. The forever flashing light never lets us rest, and sometimes I had to close my eyes and just listen. Tap Noir is a show I’d love to see again, as no performance is the same as the other. Vegar Vårdal, fiddler
“Tap Noir was a cool experience where dance, light and sound were laced together in a fascinating way. There were several passages that I would love to see again, because I want to experience how the elements connect and interact. I’m sure I’ll discover more!” Kevin
“For me, Tap Noir was an organic experience of a photographic art installation, with sounds and stroboscopic light being triggered by Helen Duffy’s tap shoes. A rewarding experience!” Magne A. Bauge, Technical Training Manager
“I was at the Tap Noir premiere. Wow. Never have I seen anything like it! Eyes and brains were challenged, since the show is lit with stroboscopes only. It results in a performance that can almost be described as a “live” slideshow. The tap dancer's performance is very impressive, as she is triggering light and sound up on a stage, staring into either complete darkness or very bright lights. Tap Noir is an experience far from the ordinary!”
“Tap Noir manages to trick the senses again and again. Short flashes of light let the brain fill in what it thinks it’s seeing, and fragments of the dancer seem to hang on the wall and retina, like some kind of reversed shadow theater. While knowing how the installation works, and how the dancer makes tap dance sounds and triggers light and sound, the senses still get so misled that one starts to wonder what’s really going on. With a landscape that reaches from dark, serious and even creepy, to funny and psychedelic, Tap Noir is an exciting and peculiar work.” Kristoffer, el. musician
“For me, Tap Noir was an organic experience of a photographic art installation, with sounds and stroboscopic light being triggered by Helen Duffy’s tap shoes. A rewarding experience!” Magne A. Bauge, Technical Training Manager
“I was at the Tap Noir premiere. Wow. Never have I seen anything like it! Eyes and brains were challenged, since the show is lit with stroboscopes only. It results in a performance that can almost be described as a “live” slideshow. The tap dancer's performance is very impressive, as she is triggering light and sound up on a stage, staring into either complete darkness or very bright lights. Tap Noir is an experience far from the ordinary!”
“Tap Noir manages to trick the senses again and again. Short flashes of light let the brain fill in what it thinks it’s seeing, and fragments of the dancer seem to hang on the wall and retina, like some kind of reversed shadow theater. While knowing how the installation works, and how the dancer makes tap dance sounds and triggers light and sound, the senses still get so misled that one starts to wonder what’s really going on. With a landscape that reaches from dark, serious and even creepy, to funny and psychedelic, Tap Noir is an exciting and peculiar work.” Kristoffer, el. musician