The origins :
With a father from Romansh-Switzerland, a mother born in Morocco and a love-story with american jazz-tap-dancing which kept her in New York for 18 years, French-born Roxane Butterfly (now partly established in Barcelona) perfectly fits the definition of a world-class citizen.
The Tap Story :
In 1992, while baptizing her ''Butterfly'', bebop tap-master Jimmy Slyde could not possibly imagine that her light-footed ''Papillon'' would so radically transform the landscape of tap, a language born out of african-american slavery on the plantations. Neither could he think she would take his beloved art-form all the way back to the African Mother-Land through the exploration of her own mediterranean roots.
This underground tap-dance icon has been an instrumental force in helping transform the stereotypical presentation of tap in the contemporary performing arts world. Linking her performances with social justice issues such as domestic violence and immigration, her uncommon career has led her across North and South America, Canada, all around Europe, West and North Africa, Asia and the Middle-East, Russia and the Indian Ocean. From busking in New York City to playing Las Vegas New York New York Hotel, from hoofing with Bartabas’ horse at the Theatre de Suresnes in France to the Teatro Zinzani spiegel-tent show in Seattle, from Morrocan night-clubs to international jazz festivals, from teaching in schools for the handicaped in France to joining the campaign against female excision in Guinea from touring Israel with Peace concerts to premiering her north-african tap-fusion in Central Park… Butterfly’s achievements have been internationally acclaimed by both the music and dance critics.
The Choreographer :
Roxane debuted as a “director” at the age of 25 at the Theatre de Suresnes in Paris where she first attempted to bridge European tap with America and invited tapsters Savion Glover, Tamango and vaudevillian Rod Ferrone to participate in Suresnes-Cité Danse 1996. In 1996, she coached the brilliant tango-dancer Pablo Veron in the motion-picture by Sally Potter “The Tango Lesson”. In 2004, she served as stage-director for the American Dance Festival in Durham (NC) during the Festival of The Feet, an event gathering the dance companies of flamenca Carlotta Santana and kathak master Chitresh Daas. As a dancer deeply dedicated to using live-music in all her performances she has received the support of the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation (USArtists International Fund), Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New York Foundation For The Arts, Arts International, and the Harkness Dance Space Grant. She was selected as one of the ‘25 Best’ by Dance Magazine (2002) and her company’s repeated appearances at Symphony Space owed her to be mentioned among the five most innovative dance artists of the 2004 season by Backstage Magazine. To this day, she remains the only woman tap dancer to have received a Bessie Award.
Roxane is the founder and artistic director of Roxane Butterfly’s Worldbeats, a touring company of world-music and dance artists which operates with both a New York and Barcelona based cast (http://worldbeats.free.fr)
The Musician :
Roxane’s many musical collaborations include work with the african jazz trio Kora Jazz (BabelMed 2009), saxophonist Phil Wood, jazz-guitarists Stanley Jordan and legendary Les Paul, vocalist Elizabeth Kontomanou, bassists Ron Carter and Barre Philipps, drummers Bob Moses, Aldo Romano, Dennis Charles, trombonist Benny Powell, Israeli frame-drummer Zohar Fresco, udist Yoel Ben Simhon, Malian pianist Cheikh Tidiiane Seck, flamenco-guitarist Pedro Cortes, indian-tabla player Prabhu Edouard, contemporary percussionists Evelyn Glennie and Amores etc.... as well as hoofers Gregory Hines, The Nicholas Brothers and her mentor Jimmy Slyde (to name just a few)… Her wide musical knowledge has allowed varied audiences to find her dancing traditional jazz-standards with prestigious orchestras and big-bands (ex: New York Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Cab Calloway Orchestra & the Duke Orchestra in France), or creating new soundscapes with electronica-pioneer Graham Haynes (cornet), while experimenting at the fusion/world-music jam sessions known as ‘Speaking Tongues” at the renowned avant-garde Walker Stage loft (NYC) in the early 2000s. Butterfly has truly helped revitalize tap on the international music scene while expanding the art-form’s vocabulary, technic and perception.
Roxane and film:
Eventhough she is mostly known for her tap-dance talents, Roxane is a gifted “camera-player” and editor, who creates experimental visual backdrops in all her performances. Having studied the art of screen-writing at the University of Aix-en-Provence, she recently completed her first screenplay for the publicity-clip of the Barcelona African Film Festival 2009. In 2007, she gave form to a 45 minutes documentary ‘’Hoofalogies/The Spirit Of Jimmy Slyde’’, based on unique archival footage peeking through the hoofing scene of the nineties in New York City. She also directed “A Day To Go Play”, a short documentary dealing with the burning issues of female genital mutilation rituals in West Africa (2004). Recently seen dancing on the façade of the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center in David Michalek’s gigantic video-installation “Slow-Dancing”, Butterfly also served as casting director/chorerographer (and performer) for HSBC latest TV commercial in Istanbul (Turquey) and is currently featured in “Touch The Sound” by Thomas Riedelsheimer as well as in “Dennis-Charles/ Interrupted Conversation” by Véroniaue N’Doumbé. In 2000, she appeared in the BBC special ‘’Fascinating Rhythm’’ by Iann Leese.
The Educator (teacher, lecturer, writer):
Roxane has been broadcasted on numerous international radio and TV programs. A dedicated educator, she has taught workshops, given seminars and acted as guest-speaker around the world at numerous festivals and conventions , including the American Dance Festival (Durham, NC), Dance USA and Arts Presenters (APAP) conferences, University of Virginia, New York University, New York Public Library, ImpulzTanz (Vienna, Austria), the French Embassy of Colombo (Sri-Lanka), The Institut of African Studies in Barcelona, and many more... In 2009, she started a tap-course at the Conservatoire of Rabat (Morocco) and participated to the launching of the promising London-Tap-Jam at the famed Ronnie Scott. Trilingual, Roxane also served as interpretor for the jazz luminaries Max Roach and Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones) at the Cité de la Musique (Paris), and ensures voice-over and doublages for Central Art Process (Barcelona). Her writings on tap have been published in JazzHot, Danser (in French), ON TAP bulletin of International Tap Association (I.T.A) and in The Nation.
Projects:
Roxane currently lives between New York and Barcelona and is a part of Xumo Nounjio’s artists collective Central Art Process (www.centralartprocess.com) based in Barcelona. While in Spain, she is experimenting within the new flamenco-jazz arena, while finishing the writing of her first book to be published in 2010.
Fue primer bailarín en la gira europea de Raffaella Carrá con el espectáculo "Forte", y luego con Miguel Bosé por toda Sudamérica en su gira “Linda”. Fue componente del "Ballet de Aplauso" de RTVE durante cinco años, y cuatro años más en "Un,Dos,Tres". Representó España en el Paraguay en 1989 bailando en la "Primera Gala Euroamericana de Danza Clásica y Moderno"; Ha cantado en varias bandas sonoras de películas como "Canción de Noruega", "Scrooge", y "Adiós Mr.Chips"; y en los grupos musicales "Broadway", "Duets" y "Sing & Sing".
Ha coreografiado numerosos obras de teatro, como "Golfus de Roma" dirigido por Mario Gas, "Faus-Trot" y "Cabaret Castizo" de Eduardo Fuentes, "Seis Personajes en Busca de Un Autor" de Pirandello, dirigido por Miguel Narros, y “Hello Dolly!” dirigido por José Carlos Plaza; espectáculos de Music-Hall en la sala de fiestas "Florida Park"; producciones musicales en el Parque de Atracciones; varios video-clips, cortometrajes, películas, desfiles de moda, convenciones y programas de televisión. Recientemente, fue Director Residente del musical “Cats” de Gillian Lynne.
Como docente, ha dirigido varios cursillos de "comedia musical"; cursillos monográficos de danza moderna y claqué para “Unión de Actores” y la asociación “Por la Danza”. Es diplomado por el "Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing" de Londres, y lleva mas de veinte años formando profesionales de la danza aquí en España.
LUDOVICO HOMBRAVELLA
Se puede ver a Ludovico en el espectaculoHERMANOS DE BAILE en el Teatro Alfil. Mas información AQUÍ.
Nacido en México con descencdencia hispano-argentina, estudió en España interpretación con Cristina Rota y Tap Dance (claque) con Guillem Alonso, Roxane Butterfly y Roser Font. Lleva cantando, bailando y actuando desde la edad de 10 años.
Ha trabajado con las compañías: Hermanos de Baile, Rafael Amargo, Cmut Band, Tap Ole, Roxane Butterfly, Trakatap, Coontaptoe y tres años de gira por España con Go Play “Ballantines”. Ha actuado en japón, Líbano, Turquía, Marruecos, Jordania, Finlandia, Italia y España. Ha colaborado en la creación del concierto “Walk On Tap On”. Ludovico se halla compremetido con la labor de divulgar la historia del claqué como un “hoover” (bailarín del claque que viene de la tradición de la música jazz). El “hoofer” hace música con los pies y no le preocupa tanto la aparencia visual como al típico bailarín Broadway, aunque no la deja de lado.“Walk On Tap On” es un intento de aproximar la música, pop, rock, blues, hip hop, etc...a la juventud y demostrar que el claque es una forma de expresarse con un lenguaje tan infinito con la misma imaginación.
I know I’m late...........but I’m always on time! – Jimmy Slyde