Travis Knights and Tanya Knights avec pianiste Andrés Vial
Une soirée réunissant sur scène danseurs de claquettes et musiciens pour célébrer la légendaire Miss Swing, Ethel Bruneau.
Au programme seront Travis Knights et Tanya Knights avec pianiste Andrés Vial, interprétant des oeuvres du grand Thelonious Monk.
Tap Dancer. Performer. Choreographer. Speaker. Believer. Montreal native Travis Knights is realizing his dreams, pounding rhythms on wood floors all over the world. His talent and dedication have earned him audiences in Shanghai, Dusseldorf, Paris, New York, and Vancouver to name a few.
His career started in 2000, when he was cast as a principal dancer in the motion picture biography of Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson with Gregory Hines and Savion Glover. The film, entitled Bojangles was choreographed by the legendary Henry LeTang.
In 2006, he was tapped to be the principal dancer in the video game adaptation of Warner Brother's Happy Feet. In 2007 and 2008, Travis participated extensively as a Tap Dance consultant for Cirque du Soleil. Since then, he has performed in Tandem Act Productions' Diary of a Tap Dancer at the Apollo Theatre, and the touring show 'Wonderland: A Tap Tribute to Stevie Wonder', created by Ayodele Casel and Sarah Savelli.
He was a featured Tap Dancer in the Opening Ceremonies to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. In the same year he toured North America with the raucous and rowdy internationally acclaimed Australian Tap Dance show, Tap Dogs.
From 2010 to 2013, Travis jumped into the dance company world as a principal dancer with Tapestry Dance Company in Austin, Texas. During his time there he was awarded the Austin Critic's Table Award for best dance artist in 2011 and 2013. In 2014, he embarked on a self-produced world tour, filming his web series entitled ’The Interviews' featuring celebrated pioneers in the tap dance world. In 2015, he debuted new works in Thomas Marek's show NOLA in Hamburg, Germany.
He currently lives in Brampton, Ontario and hosts a podcast, The Tap Love Tour Podcast available on iTunes, SoundCloud and Stitcher, featuring interviews of a myriad of inspiring artists. His latest focus is developing an original full length work commissioned by Soulpepper Theater Company as a part of Project Imagination, Canada’s largest theater commissioning project of new work by Canadian artists.
Montreal native, Tanya Knights studied tap dance with master teacher, and showbiz legend Ethel 'Miss Swing' Bruneau. Fueled by passion for the dance and a natural entrepreneurial spirit, she co-founded her first tap dance company at age 21 called Dynamix Soles. Through the company she gained significant experience and success in producing, choreographing and directing. Through her leadership, Dynamix Soles performed often at corporate events, dance and music festivals in and around Montreal. In 2010, she moved to Austin, Texas and joined Tapestry Dance Company as a principle dancer under the artistic direction of Acia Gray. In 2013, after producing the Montreal Tap Dance Festival featuring Tap Master Arthur Duncan, she embarked on a self-produced teaching and performing tour of 10 countries in 100 days, called the Tap Love Tour. Tanya currently lives in Brampton, Ontario and is working on an ambitious recording project honoring 100 years of Thelonious Monk. Tanya's experience and love for tap dance is vast and she is thrilled to be a part of this year’s Lux Magna!
Andrés Vial is a pianist and composer from Montreal.
He has performed with Peter Bernstein, Ingrid Jensen, Malika Tirolien, Kalmunity, Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, André White, Kevin Dean, Al McLean, Adrian Vedady, Gabriel Lambert, Gamelan Giri Kedaton, Kim Zombik, Mira Choquette and many others.
He recently released Sphereology Volume One, the first in a series of Thelonious Monk tribute albums, to critical acclaim. The New York City Jazz Record wrote “Andrés is a fine jazz pianist… the high musicianship and obvious affection for the songs make Sphereology Volume One a worthy effort.” He has also taught piano and improvisation workshops at McGill University with a specific focus on Monk’s music.
In addition to his ongoing collaboration with tap dancers Tanya and Travis Knights, he has composed and performed original music for contemporary dancers Tentacle Tribe, Meena Murugesan and Hiroshi Miyamoto as well as contributing to many film soundtracks.
Curated and produced by Sonya Stefan
