Chicago Tap Theatre Presents SWEET TAP CHICAGO at The City Winery

Artistic Director Mark Yonally and Chicago Tap Theatre (CTT) presents Sweet Tap Chicago Sunday, March 11 at 3 and 7 p.m. at The City Winery, 1200 W. Randolph St. Sweet Tap Chicago is a celebration of Chicago musicians and music, with all new arrangements by Kurt Schweitz, a live jazz quintet featuring rapper/singer/host Taylor Mallory and JC Brooks and tap dancing. Musicians and bands to be covered include Common, Smashing Pumpkins, Muddy Waters, Ministry and more. In addition to the Sweet Tap Chicago music, Brooks will share a sneak peak performance of the June CTT engagement, giving the audience a taste of the company's Tapped for the Very First Time - a celebration of the music of Madonna, June 23 and 29 at the Athenaeum Theatre. Doors will open one hour prior to start time and the running time of the performance is one hour and ten minutes with no intermission. Tickets are $40 for reserved admission seating and may be purchased at http://chicagotaptheatre.com/ctt_shows/sweettapchicago/. By calling 800-440-8539or at the door. Group discounts are also available for groups of 10 or more.

"This is a special one-of-a-kind dance concert that brings us full-circle as a company. I grew up tap dancing in the jazz clubs of Kansas City, KS and the connection between live music and tap dance has always been the root of my love affair with tap. When I started CTT, part of the mission was to take tap out of the jazz club and put it on the concert stage and in that process embrace tap as a theatrical art form. After 14 seasons, we continue to push the boundaries of tap and its capabilities to tell stories, explore emotions and deal with concepts and ideas not typically associated with percussive dance," said Artistic Director Mark Yonally.

He continued, "What is exciting about Sweet Tap Chicago is the opportunity to show our audience the other side of tap dance. This is good old-fashioned rhythm tap, focusing on tap as a musical form, functioning as a cross between secondary percussion and lead instrument. There will be unexpected music choices with thoughtful arrangements and tap dance designed to complement, comment on and expand the sonic range of the songs."

While CTT has worked extensively with all kinds of instruments, including harp and Berimbau, this will be the first show that features a rapper.

"We almost always work with vocalists, but it was important to us to be able to present the breadth and width of Chicago music history, and the only way to do that was to have a rapper. We can't wait to see what artistic avenues this opens up," Yonally explained.

Sweet Tap Chicago will feature choreography by Mark Yonally, Kirsten Uttich and Rich Ashworth. Dancers include Mark Yonally, Jennifer Yonally, Kirsten Uttich, Isaac Stauffer, Aimee Chase, Sara Anderson, Emily Broeker, Bailey Caves, Anabel Watson and Chris Matthews.

ABOUT KURT SCHWEITZ

Kurt Schweitz has become one of Chicago's most sought after bassists, "whose handsome tone anchors a billowing technique," as stated in a recent review by Neil Tesser, author of "The Playboy Guide to Jazz." While best known as a jazz bassist, Schweitz is a multi-genre multi-instrumentalist and composer having been playing various musical instruments since age 4. After moving to Chicago to pursue a PhD in Mathematics at the University of Chicago, Schweitz quickly become an active member of Chicago's burgeoning music scene and has also performed internationally on stages in London, Paris, NY, at the Aberdeen Jazz Festival in Scotland, and Beijing, China. Back home, his schedule has included over 2,500 performances at venues such as the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Jay Pritzker Pavillion at Millenium Park, the South Shore Jazz and Heritage Festival, Meet the Composer, Chicago Humanities Festival, Asian-American Jazz Festival, and Milwaukee Jazz in the Park Festival. Locally, he can regularly be found at Chicago's many jazz clubs and on dozens of local jazz and rock recordings. Schweitz regularly performs with jazz, rock, and classical groups, and his music uses these influences to contemporaneously unfold the deep roots of these musical genres into a cohesive whole. He has received an Individual Artist grant from the Illinois Arts Council and a grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events to write, perform, and record original music.

ABOUT TAYLOR MALLORY

Level Next Music recording artist Taylor Mallory is creating an unprecedented R&B experience where he creates the music live on stage using a series of loops. This performance style is called looping. Comprised of smooth vocal loops, synths, and progressive drum programming, his style is a fresh approach on Alternative R&B. Mallory has received recognition in media outlets such as JET, Wall Street Journal, So Far Sounds and singersroom.com. He has also been featured as an actor in various commercials was an on-air VJ for Akoo. He has collaborated with or opened for artist like Mary Mary, David Banner, India Arie and performed at venues like Schuba's, Manifest, The Double Door, Subterranean, African Festival of the Arts, and Milwaukee Brewer's Tailgate.

ABOUT CHICAGO TAP THEATRE

Founded in 2002, Chicago Tap Theatre is a growing and vibrant dance company dedicated to preserving the quintessentially American dance form of tap while taking it to the next level of creativity, innovation and quality. CTT performs exclusively with live music provided by some of Chicago's finest musicians playing everything from Duke Ellington to David Bowie and many artists in between. Under the dynamic direction of master teacher and performer Mark Yonally, CTT has gained a loyal and sizable following in Chicago and continues to tour both nationally and internationally. Having pioneered the "tap opera" format, which tells stories with compelling characters and intriguing plots, CTT has used the language of tap dance, live music and narration to move Chicago audiences for over 10 years.

Artistic Director Mark Yonally and Chicago Tap Theatre (CTT) presents Sweet Tap Chicago Sunday, March 11 at 3 and 7 p.m. at The City Winery, 1200 W. Randolph St. Sweet Tap Chicago is a celebration of Chicago musicians and music, with all new arrangements by Kurt Schweitz, a live jazz quintet featuring rapper/singer/host Taylor Mallory and JC Brooks and tap dancing. Musicians and bands to be covered include Common, Smashing Pumpkins, Muddy Waters, Ministry and more. In addition to the Sweet Tap Chicago music, Brooks will share a sneak peak performance of the June CTT engagement, , giving the audience a taste of the company's Tapped for the Very First Time - a celebration of the music of Madonna, June 23 and 29 at the Athenaeum Theatre. Doors will open one hour prior to start time and the running time of the performance is one hour and ten minutes with no intermission. Tickets are $40 for reserved admission seating and may be purchased at www.citywinerychicago.boxoffice-tickets.com. By calling 800-440-8539 or at the door. Group discounts are also available for groups of 10 or more.

Photo by Kristie Kahns features Bailey Caves (dancer) and Kurt Schweitz (bass).

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