Tokyo Tapdoare a company of Japanese tap dancers, percussionists, circus artists. You name it, they can do it. Most importantly of all however, they are crowd pleasers.
Routines are slick and polished whilst being constantly interrupted by comic acting, tricks and drumming. A highlight was a heist themed tango routine which also involved juggling cups.
The energy of this troupe, dressed head-to-toe in hot pink, is brilliantly infectious. Their front man works the crowd expertly and provides constant comedy moments. Whether it’s dressed as a Japanese girl or an over-zealous conductor, his enthusiasm is unrivalled and you can’t help but smile.
A real variety of styles come before us: the front-man, together with three female dancers, bring us everything from river-dance to Cuban rhythms. Routines are slick and polished whilst being constantly interrupted by comic acting, tricks and drumming. A highlight was a heist themed tango routine which also involved juggling cups.
If you’re looking for a mind-blowing performance of technically brilliant tap, this isn’t it. Choreography is compromised for comedy. There isn’t a five-beat wing in sight and the shuffles only become impressively fast for a brief moment in the finale. This is ordinary dancing, but Tokyo Tapdo manage to make their ordinary dancing extraordinarily entertaining.
Circus skills abound; Frisbees are thrown, traffic cones are spun mid-air, even moderately high ropes are jumped. OK, the last one wasn’t quite so exciting, but the talent on display was largely impressive.
One of the Tokyo Tapdo Is a percussionist, and mainly acts as a costume-change filler. His presence feels a little awkward, especially when he runs off stage when the other performers break out into tap. Yet he comes into his own in the ‘Drum Man’ act, where the audience learn Japanese to his booming rhythms. Is it simple? Yes. Does everyone love it? Of course.
After their slightly cringe-worthy but hilarious ‘Sushi Tap Show Song’, Tokyo Tapdo end their hour with the words ‘Are you happy? We are happy’. Everyone is definitely happy. The Sushi Tap Show 2 isn’t groundbreaking stagecraft but it’s certainly good, cheesy, innocent fun.
