Rhythmic Circus brings dance show, class to Brookings Sept.10
National touring company Rhythmic Circus will roll into Brookings on Friday, September 10, for its performance of “Feet Don’t Fail Me Now.” But before its evening show, the performance troupe will kick off the day at 4 p.m. with a master class for intermediate and advanced tap dancers in the community.
The class will be 75 minutes long and will include a focus on warm-ups, rudiments of tap, and introduction to combinations that are designed to affirm a dancer’s talent and push him to the next level of technique. The class is limited to 25 dancers. Call the SDSU Music Department at 688-5187 to reserve a spot. While the master class is limited to 25 dancers, up to 20 others may observe the class.
Tickets for the evening performance by Rhythmic Circus are $15 for adults and $5 for students and are available by calling the SDSU Music Department at 688-5187.
Lead dancer and instructor Nick Bowman recently explained the goals of the class and how it fits into Rhythmic Circus’ performance scheduled at the Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 10.
“I’m very excited to work with dancers in Brookings, because you’re almost like our neighbors… just down the road from my home in the Twin Cities,” Bowman said. “Sometimes I teach a private studio class of five or six dancers and sometimes I’m teaching 500 dancers in a huge ballroom at a national convention… in Brookings, we’ll be able to work with 25 dancers at the PAC in the dance rehearsal room. I require that dancers come prepared to learn, have fun, and bring an attitude that ‘anything is possible!’ ”
Bowman began his own dance career when he was 9 years old, thanks to a buddy who dared him to sign up for dance class. “I went just to prove that I could take that dare… and I was hooked! “ That dare helped Bowman channel his love of music and rhythms and combine that with his athletic talent and boundless energy.
“I danced all through my teenage years and at 17, I moved to L.A. and spent five years in the big city learning a lot about life and even more about dance.”
Returning home to the Minneapolis area, Bowman opened his own studio and began connecting with other dancers and musicians in the Twin Cities. “A lot of folks in the Midwest think of the Cities as home of the Vikings, Twins, Ikea and Mall of America … what they might not realize is that we have an amazing depth of culture and talent in the area and the rest of the country is really starting to notice. We have musicians, dancers, and visual artists, and it’s a happening place.”
Rhythmic Circus is an unusual synergy of 10 musicians and four dancers who have been friends for more than 10 years and as Bowman explains, “We just took this idea that had been rolling around in our heads for a couple years and decided to just go for it.”
The show is an integration of musicians and dancers and Bowman hopes the audience will realize that they are a group of best friends having a great time.
When asked to describe the show and how it all came together, Bowman laughs out loud. “It’s a great conundrum of whether the dancers are following the musicians or if the musicians are following the dancers! The artistic director has an idea and the dancers work on steps and then we take it to the band. The band develops a musical theme around the rhythm and then it comes back to the dancers for choreography, and it’s a constant evolution.”
Bowman never stops smiling and his enthusiasm and energy is matched by his fellow members of Rhythmic Circus. Just starting a national tour, the members concur that they’ve made a leap of faith with this show and that no one is going to do it for them unless they just go for it. Bowman says, “We all share the motto, ‘We, not Me!’ ”
Bowman’s main advice for young dancers and musicians who have dreams of making it to the big time includes: “One, keep your head on straight. Two, work with a sense of purpose. Three, don’t give up!”
The performance by Rhythmic Circus is offered by Woodbine Productions, a project of the SDSU Foundation and is generously underwritten by an anonymous benefactor who is committed to bringing great entertainers and entertainment to Brookings and South Dakota and helping the next generation of musicians. All ticket proceeds directly support the coveted Woodbine Music Scholarships at South Dakota State University.