Balletap USA New York debut Hines, Maurice performer Ellington, Mercedes performer Concert 1984-12-11 Lehman Center for the Performing Arts Balletap USA, a new company directed by Maruice Hines and Mercedes Ellington made its New York debut with Carmen de Lavallade as guest artist. "Balletap USA not just another group taking an arty approach to the current tap revival. there is no intellectualizing about tap here, no complicated scenarios to set to tap, no nostalgia about tap's heyday. The company features no veterans from the 1930s or 1940s and it does not aim for the purity of a concert format. Instead it has a repertory that presents the current contemporary tap dancer and accents the pop scene. The ensemble's members have diverse dance backgrounds but one can see them more easily seeking employment in a Broadway show than acclaim in a downtown loft." "Pretty and the Wolf" a dramatic cartoon chor. by the directors, told its Red-Riding-Hood-in-the-big-city story very effectively through tap dialogue. Hines' solo tribute to jazz pianist Errol Garner "Company Warmup" opens the show, reveals an ensemble of competent tap technicians, especially good at fast rhythms. Three pieces to Michael Jackson tunes, "Michael Michael Michael" "Light Dancing" featured Ms. Ellington tripping lightly among six turbaned men. Dancers included: Tiffany Lynn Myers, Michael Wright, John Fredo. (Anna Kisselgoff, "Dance: Balletap USA" New York Times Dec. 11, 1984). Performing Arts Encyclopedia http://www.loc.gov/performingarts Tap Dance America http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/tda/tda-home.html Mercedes Ellington (biography) loc.music.tdabio.87 tda IHAS 151216 loc.music.tda.2249