We’re saving a last dance for you.

Photo by Andy Snow

After 23 years of making music and dance rooted in American cultural traditions, Rhythm in Shoes will be heading for the barn following our 2009-2010 Celebration Season. It’s been an incredible run and we want to say thank you for sharing these many great years with us. Rhythm in Shoes has always been about family and community and we are grateful that you’ve been part of it.

We’re excited and energized about the next year. We plan to celebrate all the work we’ve done, the people we’ve worked with, and the community we’ve built. With one more season still in front of us, your participation and support is a vital part of that celebration.

Read Dayton Daily News article.

Our 2009-2010 Celebration Season includes work with some of our favorite local partners: the Muse Machine, Carillon Park, Cityfolk, the University of Dayton, Contemporary Dance Theater of Cincinnati, the Springfield Arts Council, and our fourth SuperPops collaboration with the Dayton Philharmonic.

Check the calendar page, we’ll keep you posted.

HOOP DANCING IN DAYTON
Lakota tradition and wisdom enriches the Miami Valley

It was our pleasure to welcome Dallas Chief Eagle and Jasmine Pickner, along with their accompanist Quentin Redbear to our community for a week of workshops and a pair of concerts at the University of Dayton’s Boll Theater, co-produced by the University and Cityfolk.

The sold out concerts were a blessing in troubled times for all who attended and the community events and school programs will not soon be forgotten by those lucky enough to participate.

During the past several years Rhythm in Shoes has spent some memorable weeks in the the state of South Dakota, much of the time in various reservation schools. While working in these schools we had the honor of meeting and joining forces with Dallas and Jasmine.

Dallas Chief Eagle is a member of the Rosebud Lakota Nation. He started teaching hoop dancing to his stepdaughter, Jasmine Pickner when she was a young girl and it wasn’t long before Jasmine became the first female to win the teen division of the World Hoop Dance Championships.

The ancient tradition of the Hoop Dance portrays the Plains Indian worldview with hoops that intersect and grow into ever more complex shapes. Dallas and Jasmine continue to develop their skills in joint performances presented in concerts, schools and community events. In the fall of 2007, they were invited by the American Folklife Center to perform at the Library of Congress and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

BROTHER WOLF
a successful collaboration and a wonderful run

… splendid authenticity and atmospheric energy… a fluid, seamless collaboration, coaxing strong performances across the board.”

Russell Florence, Jr.
Dayton City Paper

Our multi-faceted collaboration with the Human Race Theatre Company was a soul-stirring theatrical experience with a stellar cast of players.

Written by Preston Lane with music and lyrics by Laurelyn Dossett, Brother Wolf was first produced in 2007, at the Triad Theater in North Carolina. Simply stated, Brother Wolf is a retelling of the Beowolf legend set in Appalachia.

Audiences and performers alike are sure to remember the experience as one both inspiring and rewarding.

HOLIDAY ON THIN ICE - Final Edition

The 10th annual Rhythm in Shoes vaudeville lampoon of the Christmas season was not only our last but, quite possibly, our most successful. For many in the audience it has become a Yuletide Tradition.

Presented at Gilly’s nightclub in downtown Dayton, December’s song and dance show, rich in comedy sketches and topical humor, featured familiar favorites like The ADD Duet, The Cowboy Rockettes and Christmas Eve in the Neighborhood Tavern. The latter being populated by a couple of handsome young vampires, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Governor Sarah Palin. Audiences for all four shows were superb in both quality and quantity and the Company was strong as ever. Particularly entertaining was Tina DeAlderete’s take on Carmen Miranda, performed to Rick Good’s original “Fruity Fruitcake” composition and the Rhythm Pirates Christmas on the Briny Deep (pictured above).

In the tradition of the pub sessions of Ireland, musicians from Rhythm in Shoes and the Ohio Corndaddys are hosting a weekly jam session at the Trolley Stop, on East 5th Street near Wayne Ave. in the Oregon District of downtown Dayton, Ohio. The sessions run every Wednesday night from 9:00 pm to midnight.

In addition to the usual guitars, banjos and fiddles that most commonly play traditional American tunes, we extend the invitation to basses, mandolins, ukeleles, and harmonicas, AND we always play unplugged.

Pickers of all levels are welcome, so bring your instrument and join in the musical merrymaking. For more information about playing in jam sessions we recommend a very nice site hosted by banjoist Pete Wernick, aka Doctor Banjo. It is more Bluegrass than Old Time oriented but contains a lot of useful information.

If you’d like to receive the Rhythm in Shoes News in its new electronic form, get on our mailing list by sending your email address to Maggie Cooper at maggie@rhythminshoes.org.