S2E2 - Local Legacies & National Treasures: A Candid Conversation w/ Some Of Chicago's Tap Legends - Mr. Taps aka Ayrie King III, Jimmy Payne Jr., Martin 'Tre' Dumas & Reginald “Reggio The Hoofer” McLaughlin

The Either/And Podcast w/ Bril Barrett

Episode Notes

Local Legacies & National Treasures: A Candid Conversation w/ Some Of Chicago's Tap Legends - Mr. Taps aka Ayrie King III, Jimmy Payne Jr., Martin 'Tre' Dumas & Reginald “Reggio The Hoofer” McLaughlin

Mr. Taps The King of Whimsical Dance As soon as he enters the room, Mr. Taps' engaging personality and fancy footwork entrances audiences. Ayrie King III, better known as "Mr. Taps," effortlessly glides across the floor as he demonstrates different styles of tap dancing, from Fred Astaire's innovative flair to Ann Miller's rapid-fire tapping. Mr. Taps charismatic, high-energy performance is wonderful entertainment for families and children. Not only is he entertaining to watch, but he strongly involves the audience, teaching them how to do some fancy footwork themselves. Mr. Taps has performed at schools, colleges, theaters and festivals throughout the U.S. Workshops and residencies are also available.

Jimmy Payne jr. is a tap dance teacher, choreographer, and performer from Chicago. He began his tap dance lessons at Jimmy Payne School of Dance. His teacher and father was legendary dancer, Jimmy Payne, who taught tap and Afro-Caribbean dance to thousands of dance enthusiasts and professionals for over seventy years. Jimmy Payne Jr. continues the tradition by performing and teaching in Chicago and abroad. Jimmy has performed at Chicago Jazz Festival, with Jazz legend Von Freeman, with Bill Russo and Chicago Jazz Ensemble, with jazz great Orbert Davis at the Arts Club in Chicago, with jazz singer Lawrence Walden, and with Bradley Williams 21st Century Jazz Review, whom he accompanied on a trip to India for a series of concerts. Performances also include shows at Spurlock Museum, Davis Elkins College, and Hope College where he performed “ Jimmy Payne’s Rhythm of Life”, a documentary and stage performance that celebrates the life of Jimmy Payne Sr. For this project Jimmy interviewed tap greats, Lavaugn Robinson, Dr. Prince Spencer, Ludi Jones, and eccentric dancer and entertainer Rudy Horne. Critics have described Jimmy as "a tap classicist with a composers mind," (Chicago Sun Times) "the real deal," (Maui Times) and the Chicago Tribune referred to him as "smoking virtuosity." Jimmy also won an award from Black Theater Alliance for best performance in concert. He currently teaches at Columbia College Chicago and Chicago Public Schools. Jimmy describes his style of tap as traditional tap rooted in rhythm and movement.

Martin "Tre" Dumas III is a tap dancer and choreographer from Chicago, IL. Tre received most of his early dance training and his first teaching experience at Tommy Sutton's Mayfair Academy of fine Arts on Chicago's south side. He's a graduate of Clark Atlanta University with a B.A. in Mass Media Arts with a concentration in Speech and Theatre Arts. Since 1995 he's taught and performed regularly at various festivals including the Chicago Human Rhythm Project, the L.A. Tap Fest, the St. Louis Tap Festival, Maui Tap Experience, Detroit Tap Festival, Calgary Tap Summit, Chicago Tap Summit (which he co-founded), North Carolina Rhythm Tap Festival, Vancouver International Tap Dance Festival and Columbus Taps among others. From 1998 through 2000, Tre was featured in the North American and European tours of "Riverdance". In 2001 Tre partnered with Bril Barrett to create M.A.D.D Rhythms, and the M.A.D.D. Rhythms Tap Academy From September 2001-February 2002, Tre lived in Stuttgart, Germany, creating an all ages tap program at the New York City Dance School, and performing at jazz and R&B clubs by night. In 2004 he performed Duke Ellington's classic, "David Danced" (originally danced by Dr. Bunny Briggs) with Bill Russo, Orbert Davis and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble. In the summer of 2006, he portrayed a fiery tap dancing preacher in the vignette "Dance Like David" in director/choreographer Derick Grant's "Imagine Tap", and co-starred w/Dormeshia Sumbry Edwards in the critically acclaimed independent film "The Rise and Fall of Miss Thang". He was also seen on the only aired episode of Secret Talents of the Stars dancing with R&B songstress turned tap dancer, Mya. In 2007, Tre stepped down from his position as M.A.D.D. Rhythms co-artistic and technical director and also became a member of Jason Samuels Smith's ACGI. Shortly thereafter, he created Chicago's newest professional tap ensemble, Jus'LisTeN. Most recently, Tre accepted a position as an associate director with the Chicago Human Rhythm Project. He's taught and performed extensively throughout the U.S., Canada and Germany as well as other parts of Europe, and South America. In October 2011, Tre proudly debuted his first full production featuring Jus’LisTeN entitled, “Tap Like Water” as part of the annual Dance Chicago performance series. Aside from his beautiful daughter, Lauren, Tre’s greatest joy lies in dancing and sharing his love and knowledge of his art form with others and receiving the same as well.

Reginald "Reggio the Hoofer” McLaughlin is the Windy City’s most revered master of tap dancing. For more than 50 years, he has brought his inspired distinctive “hoofing” to the nation’s stages—classrooms, senior centers, streets, and festivals —earning a respected place as a passionate performer and teacher who has kept this dance tradition alive. Born in 1953 on Chicago’s South Side, McLaughlin developed a fondness for tap dancing while watching a performance in second grade. After a stint in his teens as a professional R&B musician, McLaughlin met Jimmy Payne, Sr., a prominent Chicago tap dancer, who took the young artist under his wing, providing him with a solid foundation and the motivation to lace up his dancing shoes full-time. With few professional opportunities and little knowledge of the dance scene, McLaughlin began his career underground, dancing in the subways to earn money to eat. Fortunately, a revival of tap paralleled his burgeoning career and doors soon opened. He joined the roster of Urban Gateways, a nonprofit dedicated to providing arts experiences for Chicago’s underserved youth, and presented programs at schools, libraries, museums, and park facilities that combined performance, historical commentary, and demonstration. With a professional track record, McLaughlin left the subway behind, securing bookings as part of dance team programs and as a workshop leader across the city. In 1994, he met Ernest “Brownie” Brown, half of the vaudeville duo Cook and Brown that had performed on Broadway and with Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Brown also co-founded the legendary dance ensemble the Copasetics in 1949. Determined to keep tradition alive, Brown joined forces with McLaughlin in a duo that tapped together for nearly two decades. Not surprisingly, McLaughlin caught the attention of the Old Town School of Folk Music early on, and they quickly offered him a position as tap instructor. Today, nearly 30 years later, he maintains a vigorous teaching schedule, determined to pass on the tradition to another generation. Recently, McLaughlin worked closely with ragtime pianist Reginald Robinson and the Carolina Chocolate Drops on the musical production Keep A Song in Your Soul: The Black Roots of Vaudeville, which was supported by the Arts Endowment. He also produced two dance instructional videos, appeared in five documentaries, and is currently working on a one-man show. McLaughlin’s efforts earned him a plethora of awards, including the Flo-Bert Award, given for achievement in the art of tap dancing, and grants from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. He also garnered funding from the Rockefeller Foundation’s MAP Fund and the Joyce Foundation. In 2015, the Old Town School of Folk Music honored “Reggio the Hoofer” with their Distinguished Teaching Artist Award, and in 2021 named a dance studio after him.

Produced by Vanessa Abron Edited by Tristan Bruns Recorded On Location at The M.A.D.D. Rhythms Podcast Network Located Inside The Harold Washington Cultural Center

https://www.maddrhythms.com/m-a-d-d-rhythms-podcast-network

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