Beats Rhymes and Tap Shoes is a dance offering created by Maurice Chestnut in 2014, paying tribute to the seminal rap group A Tribe Called Quest. The New Jersey Based artist created this piece to celebrate the music and jazz roots of 90’s hip hop. Beats Rhymes has been featured at the Apollo Theater and presented by NJPAC. This show was meant for the ancestors and black dance/music heroes.
Tap Dancer & Creator Maurice Chestnut
Lighting Designer Drew DeCorleto
Tap Dancer Asha Griffith
Tap Dancer Destiny Delancy
Tap Dancer Ellis Foreman
Tap Dancer Emma Rosa
Tap Dancer Jaden Foreman
Tap Dancer Kyle Wilder
Tap Dancer & Break Dancer Zackhele Grabowski
Poet Mikimari Caiyhe
Singer Kennedy
DJ Gonzalo Silva
Music Director & Drums Jerome Jennings
Tour Manager Walter Hall
Keyboard Takahiro Izumikawa
Bass Caylen Bryant
Guitar Ted Morcaldi
Trumpet Eddie Allen
Trombone Dion Tucker
Bass Trombone Clark Gayton
Tenor & Soprano Saxophone Anthony Ware
Beats, Rhymes, and Tap Shoes runs approximately 60 minutes with no intermission.
Excursions
Buggin Out Interlude – Sucka
If I Ruled The World – A Capella
Free
Stressed Out
Drum Solo
Bonita
Interlude (Emcee)
Mr N*gga
We Got The Jazz
Can I Kick It – A Capella
Check The Rhyme
BIOS
MAURICE CHESTNUT – As one of taps’ brightest young stars, Maurice Chestnut was featured on The Sally Jesse Rapha el Show in the “My Kid’s A Star” segment. He was a gold medalist in the NAACP Act-So competition and was crowned “Top Dog Performer” at The Apollo Theater. Other credits include Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk, Improvography, Bare Soundz tours, Classical Savion, Tappin’ Into Monk, Invitation To The Dancer, ABC-TV’s Dancing With The Stars, Off-Broadway Shades of Harlem, The Wiz, Bubbling Brown Sugar, Can I Hit That, and “Happy Feet 2”.
*This show contains explicit language.