Tapping into her Talent

As 18-year-old Neeve MacGregor celebrates her birthday today, Sept. 29, there is some extra excitement in the air as she prepares to wow audiences with her performance in “Rhythm in the Night,” a tap dance show directed by Sean C. Fielder and performed by the Boston Tap Company.

 “Dancing has always been my main focus as far as extracurriculars go, and it means the world to me,” MacGregor said. “It helps me to express my emotions, not just when I'm happy, but also when I'm upset, angry or sad.”

 “Rhythm In the Night” will showcase Fielder’s choreography and also will have choreography done by one of MacGregor’s tap mentors, Hillary-Marie Michael, of New Jersey.

 MacGregor, a resident of Norton, will be dancing in about six or seven numbers, all tap, but different styles. Some of the dances are a tap that is done in more of a hip-hop style, and some are dances that are in lyrical tap. 

 “I love the fact that the tap choreography is varied and will draw out different emotions when the audience watches it,” MacGregor said.

 MacGregor started dancing at New England Dance Academy when she was 2. She was a member of the competition dance teams there, where she danced for 10 years. MacGregor auditioned for The Boston Tap Company in July of 2008 and has been performing with them since she was 14.

 Her training in the style of dance she will be doing in the show was taught by none other than Fielder himself. According to a press release from The Boston Tap Company, Fielder is known for his edgy yet inviting tap style, which offers a new take on contemporary performance art. His company dances in a rhythm tap, or percussive tap style similar to “hoofers” Gregory Hines, Jimmy Slyde, Savion Glover and Jason Samuels Smith.

 “Tap dancing has always been my favorite style of dance because it is about rhythm and if you practice a step over and over, you are guaranteed to get it eventually,” MacGregor said. “With other types of dance I struggle with my flexibility, and although you can stretch and work on your flexibility all your life, some people's bodies will never be able to do a perfect split or leap.”

MacGregor is a two-time recipient of a Gregory Hines scholarship to New York’s Tap City and is a regular attendee and performer at the DC Tap Festival, The Jersey Tap Festival and Symphony Space in New York.

 “The rhythm tap community across the U.S. is like no other; we travel to various tap festivals in Washington DC, New York, New Jersey, Chicago and LA and it truly is a ‘family’ that supports and helps each other. It is an important link to the past tap masters.”

 Some tap teachers MacGregor has learned from at these festivals include Fielder, Chole Arnold, Hillary-Marie Michael, Jason Samuels Smith and Dr. Harold Kromer.

 MacGregor hopes to learn more about dance in the classroom as well.

 “I hope to combine my love of tap with my academic pursuits in college, perhaps even majoring in the anthropology of dance,” she said.

 The Boston Tap Company, now in their fourth year of existence, has performed at Jacob's Pillow, MASS Moca, Gillette Stadium, Fenway Park, The Duke Ellington Theatre in Washington D.C., Broadway, N.Y. and is currently in the process of running the ninth installment of "Rhythm in the Night," previously sold out eight times.

 The show will be performed at the Main Stage Theater of Roxbury Community College, 1234 Columbus Ave., Roxbury, Saturday, Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m. The evening will feature both choreographed and improvised works performed by Fielder and his group, featuring spoken word artist Louna Love and special guests The Floor Lords. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at www.bostontapcompany.com.