Swing Kids: The Korean Film (not the one with Christian Bale)

Soft power helped win the Cold War. For many behind the Iron Curtain, Voice of America’s jazz DJ Willis Conover made a conclusive case for freedom with the music of swing and bop. That toe-tapping music will do it every time. For one hard-case North Korean POW, it is the tapping toes that win him over. Much to his own surprise, he joins a camp tap dancing troupe in Kang Hyoung-chul’s Swing Kids (trailer here), which opens today in New York.

Rho Ki-soo is a true believer in Communism and King Kim Il-sung. His legendary brother is even fiercer. However, Ki-soo is more adept at causing havoc, guerrilla-style. That makes him particularly dangerous in a tinder box like the Geoje prison camp. Often open conflict breaks out between the pro- and anti-communist POW factions. Frankly, the large percentage of prisoners who want to stay in the South should be cause for embarrassment to the Communist cause, but instead the North has exploited the near anarchy of Geoje for propaganda purposes.

Then Rho gets a good eyeful of Sgt. M. Jackson, a Broadway hoofer in his civilian life, practicing his tap steps. Jackson is trying to mold two unlikely POWs and Yang Pan-rae, a young civilian woman from town into some kind of ensemble, on the orders of the camp commander, Gen. Roberts. The idea is to put on a show for the media during the Red Cross’s Christmas visit. As fate would dictate, Rho has tons of natural tap talent. He also craves the freedom he feels while dancing, but the inherent Americanness of tap puts him in an awkward position with his fanatical comrades.

Simply in terms of music, Swing Kids does not make a lot of sense, starting with the “swing” part, in this case, largely equating with big band  jazz, which was definitely out of favor in the early 1950s. Honestly, the one person in the camp most likely to have a copy of Benny Goodman’s “Sing, Sing, Sing,” featuring Gene Krupa (Jackson’s tune of choice), would be old man Roberts. (Most GIs would be listening to Frankie Laine and Doris Day.)  As a hip cat, Jackson would probably be digging bop—most likely Miles Davis. Frankly, even calling themselves the “Swing Kids” sounds anachronistic.

Be that as it was, it should be clearly stipulated the dance numbers in this Swing Kids (not to be confused with the 1993 film about jazz-listening teenagers in National Socialist Germany) are surprisingly snappy and Kang and cinematographer Kim Ji-young shoot them in an especially cinematic manner. On the other hand, the film attributes outright war crimes to the American military, which is highly offensive (yes, I write as the grandson of a Korean War veteran, who helped rebuild the South Korean Marine Corps after the war). Regardless, the suggestion that an American general would order MPs to indiscriminately murder Koreans is highly problematic, to the point of libelous.

So, it is hard to say what to make of this film. Jared Grimes (one of the choreographers of After Midnight on Broadway) is really terrific as Jackson and Park Hye-soo is quite endearing as the resilient Yang. However, Do Kyung-soo’s Rho comes across as a smirky kid, who couldn’t inspire rebellion in the world’s strictest Catholic School, while Ross Kettle plays Roberts as the broadest martinet stereotype imaginable.

Swing Kids is a frustrating film that builds up a reservoir of good will, but then flushes it all away. It is a shame, because the energy of the dance sequences is quite vigorous. Not recommended, Swing Kids opens today (12/21) in New York, at the AMC Empire.

George T. Nierenberg’s No Maps on My Taps & About Tap

Lionel Hampton was the perfect bandleader to play for a late 1970s summit meeting of three highly accomplished tap dancers, who were still hanging on and actively performing. After all, he was a showman above all, who happened to marry a dancer (his beloved Gladys). Their show wasn’t merely well received. It helped spark a renewed interest in tap, thanks to the wider audience it reached through George T. Nierenberg’s documentary. Freshly restored, Nierenberg’s hour-long No Maps on My Taps (trailer here) and his half-hour follow-up, About Tap open together this Friday for a special week-long run, right in time for Tap City: the New York City Tap Festival.

Chuck Green was the senior member of the No Maps trio and he would be the only dancer appearing in both films. As the dancing half of Chuck and Chuckles, he toured the world, but he was also a survivor, who returned to active performance after a long period of institutionalization. He didn’t just have the steps and the seniority—his colleagues clearly were inspired by his dignity and gravitas.

Probably, the unofficial spokesman for No Maps is Bunny Briggs. He would be the one enjoying a cold beer before their performance. He was a charismatic performer, who always seems to be having great fun on-stage, but he is literally moved to tears when family members recall how much his earnings as a child performer helped them make ends meet.

George “Sandman” Sims is the teacher—and apparently also a bit of a trash talker. In No Maps, we see him teaching his little boy in the park, whereas On Tap opens with Gregory Hines (then the tap sensation as a Tony nominee for Eubie!) discussing all the impromptu lessons he received from Sims as a young boy working at the Apollo Theater.

Green, the constant for both films, maybe even tops himself with the sly elegance of his performance in About Tap. Hampton’s band was either on tour or otherwise unavailable for the second film, but the music is still suitably swinging thanks to the ensemble led by Broadway veteran Danny Holgate, featuring Seldon Powell on tenor and Grady Tate on drums.  Rather ironically, Steve Condos is the only About Tap hoofer not shown performing with the band, which also includes bassist Arvell Shaw, a former sideman with Louis Armstrong, whom Condos credits as one of his pivotal artistic influences.

In About Tap, the focus is more on technique than biography, but viewers still get some tap history from Jimmy Slyde, who was by then already considered a living legend. Then in his late fifties, his energy and style were undiminished. Indeed, you could say none of the tap artists featured in Nierenberg’s films had yet to lose a step.

Both films are just a lot of swinging fun. It is easy to see how the national broadcast of No Maps, coupled with the hit Broadway run for Eubie! rekindled national interest in tap. Hampton’s efforts toward that end were also rewarded with an Emmy Award for best musical direction (from the considerably less searchable news & documentary branch). These are culturally significant films that every jazz and dance fan will be delighted to see pristinely restored, courtesy of Milestone Film. Enthusiastically recommended, No Maps on My Taps and About Tap open together this Friday (7/7) in New York, at the Quad Cinema.

On-Stage: COBU EN

As much athletes as musicians, most drummers are disgustingly healthy. Amongst percussion instruments, the Japanese taiko drum can be particularly grueling. Combine taiko with high octane tap dance, and you have one physically demanding show, but it never even winds the COBU dance troupe. While honoring tradition, COBU brings plenty of noise and a hip attitude in EN (trailer here), their new show now playing at the Theater for the New City’s Johnson Theater.

COBU founder and guiding light Yako Miyamoto began her studies of taiko drumming at the age of eight, but majored in chemistry while in college. However, when she discovered tap, Miyamoto came to America to study with Savion Glover. Eventually, she would land the part in the Off-Broadway hit Stomp that she has held for the last nine years while simultaneously performing with COBU (all of which sounds truly exhausting). Yet based on the evidence of EN, stamina does not seem to be a problem for Miyamoto or any of the company members.

Though not originally conceived as such, COBU has evolved into an all-woman company. The seven members (including Miyamoto) who perform EN are indeed thoroughly impressive dancers and musicians. Miyamoto’s choreography is often quite spectacular, inventively integrating the kinetics of drumming with a very funky, hip-hop influenced tap. Some numbers, like the appropriately titled “Combat,” also add martial arts fight choreography into the dizzying mix. Actually, the clash of quarterstaffs and drumsticks looks a bit dangerous, but happily no dancers were hurt during last night’s performance.

Clearly, EN is all about rhythm. Though COBU play a variety of percussion instruments, the large kettle-like taiko drums dominate the program. Throughout the show, you can feel the vibrations traveling through the floor and up the risers. As a result, it is hard not to get caught up in COBU’s groove.

Miyamoto is particularly charismatic on-stage, but the entire company—Hana Ogata, Yuki Yamamori, Micro Hisada, Nozomi Gunji, and Yoko Ogawa—brings an energetic and energizing spirit to the show. COBU’s show should have a similar appeal to Drumstruck, which had a reasonably successful commercial Off-Broadway run several years ago (and was a pretty entertaining show). EN though is a better production, featuring more dynamic choreography and foregoing forced attempts at humor.

COBU is a very cool group that seamlessly blends the drumming and dancing disciplines. EN should be a crowd pleasing show for both hipster New Yorkers and tourists looking for some entertaining on-stage spectacle. Highly recommended, EN runs through Sunday evening (9/20). Following their run at the Johnson/New City, COBU will tour Japan starting October 9th. Cities will include Tokyo, Fukuoka, Hirosima and Sendai. They return to New York for the Madison Avenue Festival December 6th.

(Photo courtesy of DARR Publicity)