Tapping since he was 4, dancer considers it music
Continued from Page 16.
more. "I just think it's incredible."
At the end of the last set, Chuck Berg, So What and Yonally receive a standing ovation. Yonally steps back to his table, grinning from ear to ear and wiping lines of sweat off his forehead. Audience members slap him on the back and give him thumbs-up.
"The most important part in playing in a jazz band is to pay attention to what the other members are doing," Yonally said. "We're all improvising together. It also focuses you not to think about being in front of an entire room of people watching you."
He said that although the art was making a resurgence, he enjoyed the small world of tap. He has worked with some of the best performers in tap dancing today.
"The nice thing about the tap community is that it is small enough to be able to work
with the masters," said Yonally. "The people who have made the art."
Yonally was a prodigy of Cy Ledgin, a 90 year-old vaudevillian tap dancer, and studied with him for four years at the Valley View School of Dance in Overland Park.
Yonally said he would like to start doing a combination of jazz and rap fusion in the future.
"I want to try to make tap more accessible to a young audience, kind of the way rap made jazz more accessible to a young audience," he said. "It makes it more relevant to them."
Yonally, a political science major, said that he hoped to have a future with tap dancing but that he realized he needed to remain practical in his career choice.
He never gives up hope, however.
"If I could have my wishes fulfilled, I would make my living being a tap dancer," he said.
So What
Formed: 7 months ago
Performances: 10 p.m. to midnight, Thursdays at Paradise Cafe, 728 Massachusetts St. Free.
Members:
Stanley Sheldon, bass, freshman majoring in environmental studies. He played the bass for 25 years and plaved bass for Peter Frampton on the album "Framump Comes Alive."
Nathan Berg, drums, senior majoring in American studies. He toured with Mayonard Ferguson and a jazz Big Band for almost two years, and he traveled throughout the United States and Europe. Mark Rasmussen, piano. He played back up for Jimmy Witherpoon and Bo Diddly.
KANSAN
Sleep with the Best
Attention Waterbed Owners We make innerspring mattresses to fit your waterbed frame
6 styles to select from
Spring Air and Salisbury
The oldest name in mattresses
Spring Air 1 Year Warranty
Sugg. Retail Value Mattress & Foundation
SALE
Twin Set...$199.95...$119.95
Full Set...$249.95...$149.95
Queen Set...$339.95...$199.95
Salisbury 10 Year Warranty
Sugg. Retail Value Mattress & Foundation
SALE
Twin Set...$297.95...$149.95
Full Set...$389.95...$199.95
Queen Set...$479.95...$249.95
King Set...$659.95...$399.95
Mon-Thurs 10-8
Fri & Sat 10-5
842-7378 Bobbis Bedroom
2429 Iowa #G
Four Boulevard Beers on Tap 746 Massachusetts 843-4111 Open for Lunch and Dinner
Auto Loans 5.9%Apr Fixed Rate 100% Financing
Take advantage of low rates at KU Credit Union. Don't miss your opportunity for 100% financing of a new auto at the low fixed rate of 5.9% for 36 or 48 months and 60 month financing at the fixed rate of 6.75%.
February 11, 1994 THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN •THE GUIDE TO GOING OUT
17