With more dancers, company able to tap into something new

More than 18 months after presenting its first full-scale performance, Movement Afoot is still tapping — and making more noise than ever.

In 2016, six dancers were members of the tap-dance company; with the addition of one dancer in 2017 and two dancers this year, the total now stands at nine.

“I knew them already,” founder and director Lauren Squires said of the new dancers, “and it was a matter of them saying that they were interested in doing more tap.”

All of Movement Afoot’s members — Squires, plus Kara Braunreiter, Rachel Cooke, Stephanie Gluck, Holly Honroth, Jessica Kehn, Janelle Maur, Sharon Ross and Janet Schroeder — will be featured in a program of short works, “Rhythm Studies,” on Friday and Saturday at the Columbus Performing Arts Center.

“Rhythm Studies” is a milestone for the company in other ways.

The performance marks the company’s first that will not feature outside guest dancers representing other dance styles; earlier full-scale performances were rounded out with such collaborators.

“We only had six dancers,” Squires said. “It was like, ‘You know, how are we going to fill the amount of time that people would expect to come to a theatrical performance?’”

Now, with nine dancers set to perform in various combinations, programming an hourlong evening of tap is less challenging.

“I really wanted to just focus on tap this show,” Squires said, “and I wanted Movement Afoot members, from left, Holly Honroth, Lauren Squires, Janelle Maur, Janet Schroeder and Sharon Ross rehearse for “Rhythm Studies.” Who: Movement Afoot, Powder Blue Jazz Trio What: “Rhythm Studies” Where: Columbus Performing Arts Center, 549 Franklin Ave. Contact: www.movementafoottap. Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Friday, 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday Tickets: $20, or $15 for students and senior citizens, $10 for age 12 and younger

to be able to just focus on our tap.”

“Rhythm Studies” also received a grant of $3,075 from the Greater Columbus Arts Council — the first such financial support the company has gotten from the GCAC.

The money was used to hire a full band rather than

a single pianist. The Powder Blue Jazz Trio will perform with the dancers during the third act.

“We wanted to really be able to have a fuller sound for the jazz and swing numbers,” Squires said.

“Rhythm Studies” includes a series of “choreographic games,” Squires said.

The first act, “Mine Becomes Yours,” features dance elements shared from piece to piece; recorded music, including “Ain’t Misbehavin'” and “Creole Love Call,” will be heard.

“We kind of just played a game of telephone,” Squires said. “I took one part of my dance, and I passed it on to Janet. She created her dance, and then took one part of her dance and passed it on to the next person.”

Overlapping dance phrases are also featured in one of the pieces in the a cappella second act, “Time Constraints.”

“There are three of us,” Squires said. “Each of us came up with a two-bar phrase, and the other two had to take that phrase and produce the exact same movements but with a different rhythm.”

And the third act, “Riffin’ the New Lowdown,” will draw from “Doin’ the New Lowdown,” a routine associated with tap dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson.

Said Squires: “We took the steps from that piece and basically said, ‘Everybody who wants to choreograph something in this set, this is your vocabulary.’”