In honor of Black History Month, the Oconee Performing Arts Society (OPAS) presented Tip Tap Two, Beat & Rhythm: The Evolution of Tap to the students at Greensboro Elementary School on Thursday, February 25th in two back to back programs. Terrence “Taps” Bennett and Tre McClendon make up this dynamic duo from Atlanta. Terrence began tap dancing at the age of 19 and in just a few short years began teaching classes to young dancers. Tre began dancing at the age of 2 at his parents’ dance school, McClendon School of Dance. Because of their backgrounds they were able to impress upon the students that it is never too late to learn something new and with hard work you can achieve whatever you put your mind to.

In their high-energy, fast paced show, Tip Tap Two took students on a journey through the history of Tap, a uniquely American art form, starting with its origins in Little Five Points, New York in the 19th century with the blending of both traditional Irish and African forms of dance. Next they introduced students to the great pioneers of tap; beginning the Mr. Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Terrence demonstrated his unique style of tapping primarily on his toes. Tre then showed students the next transition in tap, led by John Bubbles who dropped his heels on the offbeat and accented rhythms with his toes.

As Jazz music evolved, Tap too developed into a more improvisational style. One of the greater leaders in this new form of tap was Baby Laurence. Terrence and Tre then moved on to the contemporary masters of Tap. The unique style of the late Gregory Hines was demonstrated by the duo in a wonderful performance inspired by the street dance Mr. Hines performed in the movie Tap. Savion Glover’s style performed by Terrence and Tre was familiar to all students who had seen the movie Happy Feet.

The students were delighted with Tip Tap Two’s program as was evident by the number of children who left the gymnasium tapping. Due to the success of this program, OPAS hopes to continue working with the Woodruff Center’s Young Audiences Arts for Learning division to bring more of these top quality Education & Outreach programs to students throughout the Lake Oconee area.

Next month on March 19th, OPAS will continue its Education & Outreach efforts with the presentation of ABT II to the students of Baldwin County at the GC&SU Russell Auditorium. In addition to this education program there will a public performance that same evening at 7:30pm. Tickets are available at the OPAS Box Office (706-999-1518) or online at www.ticketmaster.com; prices are $35 for adults, $10 for children and students. For more information on OPAS, please visit our website at www.opas.org.