This is a typical review of our performances:
The Chapel Hill News, Wednesday, December 24, 2003
"A local dance quartet kicked off the celebration, a fund-raiser for the ArtsCenter, with an original
adapation of "Twas the Night Before Christmas," in which Santa, Rudolph and "mamma in her kerchief and I
in my cap" welcomed the holiday with an explosive array of percussive dance routines that must surely have awakened the children,
and probably most of the neighbors. Percussive dance includes tap, as well as clogging and other forms based on old-time
mountain traditions such as buck dancing and flat footing, ...
Dueling Shoes - with co-founders Steve Levitt and Jaso Phillips as The Narrator and Santa, respectively,
Joan Levitt as the Husband and Heather Hartzog as Rudolph - blended all those forms in an intricate, rapid-fire combination
of complex rhythms. The story, loosely and humerously adapted from Clement Clarke Moore's classic poem, served simply
as the peg upon which a dazzling display of dancing was hung."
This is an example (actual quotes) of audience reactions to our shows:
An adult's reaction:
"It was totally great. I loved it. It was creative....fun. Hire them for whatever
your gig is (laughing). Audience loved it. Music was great. Two thumbs up, two thumbs up."
8 year old girl talking about the square dance with the Tomato Cage Dancers (manaquins):
"The square dance was a little funny with those people. It was good. I love it. It
was funny when they all had to carry them and stuff, you know, because they couldn't actually move. I was sort of thinking
that they may be able to move by themselves, or something, so... it was really good."
17 year old's reaction:
"I thought it was amazing. I thought it was really cool. I thought it was really really
good. It was amazing. Their feet, they moved really really fast. It was really cool. Like I don't
know how they did it."
