Student discovers music at his feet
Childhood exercise turned into passion for tap,jazz dancing
By Rebecca Horowitz Special to the Kansan
When Mark Yonally was 4 years old, his mother was afraid that he had asthma. She enrolled him in dance classes to keep him in shape. Sixteen years later, Yonally has outgrown the asthma but not his passion for dance.
Yonally's style of dance was popular even before the invention of radio. Now, tap dancing is slowly making a comeback in American culture.
"Tap isn't necessarily what most Americans consider it," said Yonally, Overland Park sophomore. He said Americans derived their knowledge of tap from showtap stars such as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. However, tap dancing originated through a combination of African rhythms and Irish dances.
Yonally's tap style, called Traditional American Tap, is similar to jazz dancing.
"It's improvisation,exploring new musical space and combining it with other instruments,"he said.
Traditional American Tap allows the sounds of the taps to become a part of the music instead of the tap dancing itself.
"I consider it more to be an instrument than a form of dance," Yonally said.
Last year, Yonally was invited to play the Birdland Jazz Tribute at Liberty Hall, 642 Massachusetts St. Through the jazz circuit around Lawrence, he hooked up with Mark Rasmussen, Lawrence resident, who also played at the tribute and is a member of a local jazz trio, So What. Through these connections, Yonally has been invited repeatedly to dance with So What, which performs regularly on Thursday nights at Paradise Cafe, 728 Massachusetts St.
It's free, and people of all ages pack into a small room to get a good spot before the show. The restaurant is busy. Coffee cups are clicking, an occasional loud laugh is heard, customers try to raise their voices above the band testing its equipment.
From 10 p.m. to midnight each Thursday, Paradise Cafe offers beer, cocktails, coffee, desserts and an ideal atmosphere for live jazz.
As the lights dim, the noise level falls. So What is snuggled into a small space in the front of the room with a large window overlooking Massachusetts Street as their backdrop. Yet the audience and band are completely oblivious to the world of cars and passers-by outside.
Yonally sits at a table with friends, enjoying the music, waiting eagerly to join in.
So What plays songs such as "Tranquility," "Humpty Dumpty" by Chick Corea, and some Herbie Hancock. Rasmussen, pianist of the trio, sweeps scales and chords up and down the keyboard. Drummer Nathan Berg, Lawrence senior, and bassist Stanley Sheldon, who is a former bassist for Peter Frampton and has returned to Lawrence to attend classes, add a low harmony and beat to the improvisation.
A red hue shines on the trio from a neon sign in the window above, creating a hypnotizing ambiance. After 15 minutes into
Heather Lofflin/KANSAN
Mark Yonally. Overland Park sophomore, tap dances in front of the band "So What" at the Paradise Cafe.
the first set, people start filing in from the street.
As the trio begins to pick up the tempo, Chuck Berg, professor of theater and film, approaches the microphone with a saxophone around his neck. His sax squeals and hums deeply, dipping up and down with the trio's rhythm.
"There's more than just a band. It's a hootenanny jazz fest," said Rich Rodriguez, a bartender at Paradise.
After the first set ends, Yonally, still waiting, leans over to tie on his tap shoes. Cued to come on, he gets up, brushing imaginary dust off his droopy pants and gray vest. The audience moves closer to the front of the room, hoping to get a glimpse at his feet in action.
As Yonally taps, he creates a unique rhythm to the songs. He becomes not a dancer, but an instrument, intertwining the beat of his tap with the melody of jazz. As the beat quickens, so does his tap, sliding back and forth across the floor.
"It's like bringing something dead, alive," said George McFarley, St. Petersburg, Fla., soohomore. "It's his interpretation of the music."
The crowd is amazed, clapping and cheering Yonally on as his feet blaze onto the floor at a stunning pace, never missing a beat.
"I've never seen live tap dancing before," said William Pile, Kansas City, Kan., sopho-
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