Tap Into This!

Tap dancing is a uniquely American art form, born of the fusion of West African drumming and dancing with the clogging and step dancing of Scottish, Irish, and English settlers. There is a rich history in this art form, including a time when tap dancers were in heavy rotation on vaudeville stages across the country. This year, we have a few different acts ready to tap into your sense of joy and wonder! You'll want to have these performers on your radar.

Founded in 2012, Alchemy Tap Project to inspire teens and young adults to further the evolution of tap dancing. This group brings the fun, percussive tap style to a wide range of music, from jazz to classical, electro-swing to hip-hop, and everything in between! Director and Choreographer Josh Scribner grew up in Seattle and began tap dancing at the age of eight as part of the Tap Squad with Cheryl Johnson. He spent years tapping in various venues, including on the television show Showtime at the Apollo and Cirque du Soleil’s first Broadway production, Banana Shpeel. Josh also helped with the creation of a Cirque du Soliel show, Zaia. We’re very excited to have this group on stage to illustrate the amazing innovation happening in tap today! Click here to find out when they'll be on the Moisture Festival stage.

Photo by Michelle Bates

Shoehorn is a performance artist like no other. He can make music with his feet while dancing with his saxophone, creating a whirlwind performance that you’ll have to see to believe! Shoehorn can also play a number of other instruments, including the Tapercussion e-tap instrument of his own creation. Songs range from classic to original, and Shoehorn plays both solo and as a member of various groups, including Fools in Paradise, Baby Gramps Time Warp, and Evening Star Orchestra. Shoehorn is also a recording artist, with both a CD and DVD under his belt! In addition to his extensive range of music abilities, he is an internationally recognized tap soloist. Shoehorn's tap skills have been featured in the Emmy-nominated PBS TV documentary JUBA: Masters of Tap & Percussive Dance. We are so excited to bring him back to Moisture Festival! You can see which shows he'll be performing in by clicking here.

Brian Jones credits his eleventh grade English teacher with introducing him to the rich tradition of tap, and as of 2015, he has spent 43 years of his life as a tap dancer and choreographer. In those years, he has shared the stage with Ethel Merman, Robert Goulet, The Persuasions, and The Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. Known for his tap company, The All-Tap Revue, Brian has toured from Hawaii to Europe, delighting audiences with his feets of fancy. Beyond performing, Brian shares his love of tap dance through teaching classes in Rhode Island, and his website even contains notations for tap dances he has choreographed. We'll be scheduling him into shows very soon, and you'll be able to see what dates and times he'll be performing right here!

Tickets Going Fast for Hilary Chaplain Workshop, Plus Part Two Added!

Were you thinking of taking Hilary Chaplain's workshop, Physical Comedy from a Clown POV? It's selling so fast that we added two more spots, for a total of 14 participants! However, of the 14 total spots, there are ONLY THREE TICKETS LEFT!! Act fast if you want to join in on the fun... buy your ticket today!

There has been so much interest generated by this workshop that Hilary decided to add a PART TWO! What does that mean, you ask? If you take the first workshop on Saturday, March 26, we are offering tickets to a next level workshop on Monday, March 28 from 6-10 PM (also at West of Lenin). This second workshop will add on to what you learned in the first session, helping you further explore physical comedy! Tickets will only be available to those who have attended Part One of the workshop, so if you haven't already, grab one of the last four spots available for Part One, and check out Part Two here.

Destination Delridge: A Landmark Celebration to Benefit Youngstown Cultural Art Center

We found out that our friends at the Youngstown Cultural Art Center are having a fundraiser, and you're invited! This inclusive, contemporary multi-arts space incubates and inspires new artists and art-makers across disciplines, cultures, and generations. Managed by the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association, Youngstown rents space to artists, community organization, and non-profits, houses low-income artists, and operates on a platform of community building and engagement. 

Here are the details for their upcoming event:

For the first time in five years, the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association is hosting a fundraiser, Destination Delridge: A Landmark Celebration! This will indeed be a momentous occasion, as we celebrate 20 years of DNDA strengthening the Delridge community, and 10 years of youth and arts education at the dynamic Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. There will be great food, live entertainment, art, games, and music by some of Seattle's finest! You don't want to miss this!
 
WHEN: Friday, February 26, 2016 6 PM Mingle, 7 PM Dinner
WHERE: Metropolist in SoDo (2931 1st Ave S, Suite A Seattle, WA 98134)
  
Come and connect with 200 guests who are passionate about social justice and community-building!

For ticket info and purchase, visit destinationdelridge.brownpapertickets.org
For questions, or to volunteer, email DestinationDelridge@dnda.org

If you're unable to attend, but are able to donate in support of our work, please click here. We thank you for your support!

Check out this video for more information on all the services provided to the community by the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center:

Kids These Days: Talented Youth Acts

There are multiple organizations across the country that are encouraging kids get into the circus arts, teaching them physical skills as well as coordination and self-confidence in a non-competitive atmosphere. Seattle kids are lucky to have SANCA (School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts) with a whole host of children's classes available, and there are more across the country like Circus Smirkus in Vermont. While all of our performers are young at heart, this year we also have some performers that have had fewer trips around the sun. Come and see what these prodigious prodigies have in store for you at the 2016 Moisture Festival!

photo by Michelle Bates

If you attended our Treasure Trove auction in December, you may have seen the fantastic circus skills of Maxim Voronin. His skills include magic, juggling, devil sticks, contortion, and acrobatics. He and Moisture Festival are both 13 years old! Maxim performed at Teatro ZinZanni for their kid-friendly afternoon show "Big Top Rock: Dream On", a great spectacle of performance and music. Maxim has previously shared the stage with another 2016 Moisture Festival act, Aga-Boom, and has also appeared in Evan's Family Variety Show. We are so glad he is getting to display his talents at many venues, and are excited to welcome him to the festival stage in 2016! You can find his show dates and times listed here later this month.

photo by Michelle Bates

Saffi Watson's first appearance on the Moisture Festival stage was at the age of six with SANCA's Amazing Circus 1-ders. She has been on the Teatro ZinZanni stage (for three different shows!) and has toured internationally with SANCA's Cirrus Circus. Saffi has been referred to as the "pint-sized human crazy straw" for her mind-boggling bend-abilities. You won't want to miss the amazing acrobatics she has in store for us this year! Once we've completed the great jigsaw puzzle of act scheduling, you can see her show dates and times here.


TRIcycle is a unicycle trio comprised of Lyla Goldman, Anna Zuckerman, and Leah Zuckerman. These three have been working together for over seven years as members of SANCA's Cirrus Circus, performing both locally and internationally. Last summer, they were on tour with Circus Smirkus, an international youth circus based in Vermont, using their aerial, acrobatic, and unicycle skills to delight audiences up and down the East Coast. They will get to tour again with Circus Smirkus this summer, so come see them on our stage before they are whisked away with the circus! Show dates will be posted here as soon as we get them nailed down.

Evan's Family Variety Show: February Edition

Angel Productions presents another wonderful variety show coming up at the end of February! The Evans Family Variety Show features many great acts for the whole family, and this month's edition, hosted by Armitage Shanks, includes Moisture Festival performers Godfrey Daniels and Master Payne. Advance tickets are only $5 for children and $10 for adults!

So mark your calendars for Sunday, February 28, 3 PM! The show will be held at the Phinney Center, 6532 Phinney Ave N. Tickets can be purchased here, and you can find out more about Angel Productions on their Facebook page.

One Performer + One Perfomer = Three Magic Acts!

Some of our performers come to us with more than their solo act... sometimes they will also have a separate act planned with another performer! These two artists are coming to us all the way from Austin, Texas with over 75 years of combined performance experience. They both have plenty of talent to stand on their own, but when they get together, well... let's just say you might want to hold on to your hats (or socks, shoes... whatever might be covering those extremities).

Arsene Dupin has been performing magic, juggling, mime, and comedy professionally since 1978. He is the resident magician at One World Theatre in Austin, sharing the history of mime and the magic of magic with area schoolchildren. Arsene has performed all over the world, from the White House to a resort in Fiji, at international festivals and on cruise ships, and has even appeared in movies! He has not, however, been to Moisture Festival, and we are very excited for his attendance this year. In just a few weeks, you will see his show dates and times listed here on his bio page.

Magical Mystical Michael's name says it all! He has been wowing audiences across the globe since learning his first magic trick in his early 20's. The day after seeing a magician perform the color changing handkerchief trick at Colorado University, Michael happened by a magic shop in downtown Boulder. He went in and bought himself that same trick, and the stage was set for a lifetime of magic! We are so pleased to bring him back to the Moisture Festival stage. Check here for show dates and times soon!



Together, Arsene Dupin and Magical Mystical Michael are The Mouth Brothers! They are just two magicians tiptoeing on the edge of absurdity and enforcing laughter through the power of silence. Having first met at a magic convention in Michigan, Michael and Arsene have been friends for over 30 years. However, The Mouth Brothers is a new collaboration! If our sources are correct, there have been only two previous public performances of this duo act. The first was at a magic competition in Central Texas, and after practicing for just a couple of hours, they won! You will soon have the chance to see this award-winning collaboration for yourself. The show dates and times for this magical act will be posted here shortly.

Teenagers FTW!

We're turning 13 this year and we're getting our TeenTix pass! 

A program that any teen can join, it's FREE to sign up for a Teen Tix pass. The pass entitles participating teens to purchase $5.00 day-of-show tickets to Moisture Festival shows!

Moisture Festival is thrilled to be a new partner of TeenTix this year, a fantastic program to meet our next generation of variete arts devotees.  More than just making cheap tickets available to teens, this program brings youth engagement and access to arts in a new way.  TeenTix Deputy Director, Ashram, stopped by our offices yesterday and put it best: it's "an opportunity for teens to engage in the arts on their own terms".

In partnership with 60 regional arts organizations, TeenTix ensures equitable arts access for all young people, and empowers young people to engage in civic life through the arts. TeenTix was founded in 2004 by Seattle Center and in partnership with ten of the resident arts organizations on the Seattle Center campus. Currently, 60 arts organizations throughout the Puget Sound region participate in the TeenTix program. To date, TeenTix has facilitated the sale of over 70,000 arts tickets to teens.

Our Friend the Superbowl Juggler!

Moisture Festival performers can be seen in many places all over the world... even in Superbowl commercials! Bronkar Lee is an internationally acclaimed beatboxer, drummer, juggler, musician, actor, funny man, and circus performer extraordinaire who has traveled to many places, including your television. In addition to his appearance in a commercial during last Sunday's Superbowl, he was on a previous season of "America's Got Talent" and on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". Bronkar has invented his very own art form- a mix of vocal percussion, juggling, and drumming which he has dubbed "Beat Bouncing". In just a few weeks, you'll be able to see his specific Moisture Festival show dates listed on his performer bio so that you can see him live on stage at Hale's Palladium! Can you spot Bronkar in the commercial below? (FYI- the video loops the commercial twice)

Strong New Acts for 2016

Moisture Festival brings you a variety of variete acts, including some that perform mind-blowing physical feats. This year, we have a number of acts that will impress even the un-impressable and leave you wondering, "Just how did they do that?" Here is a sneak peek into two such acts that you'll definitely want to have on your radar!

Tera Nova Zarra is a woman of many talents. Her website lists some of them: acrobat, aerialist, vocalist, and strong woman, with black belt in both Aikido and Aiki Jujutsu. She has toured the world, showcasing these talents, and trained with masters in various fields, including the former Austrian sport acrobatics champion and national team coach, Stefan Furst. Tera has performed with a handful of well-loved groups, including Night Flight Aerial, Do Jump! Extremely Physical Theater, and Imago Mask Theatre Ensemble. Her ninja rock band, Fist of Dishonor, even toured with Vanilla Ice in 2007! We are delighted that she will be sharing her strength and talent with us for the 2016 Moisture Festival. In just a few weeks, you can find her show dates and times listed here!




Another new-to-Moisture act we are excited to share with you is the powerful duo Fugazi. Stephan Choiniere and partner Lina Tabakova will mesmerize you with their originality and physical strength. Fugazi was born of Stephan's creation, Body2Body, performed in over 1,000 shows in Cirque du Soleil's Las Vegas production, Zumanity. The style and story line morphed into the Fugazi act that you will soon see right here at Hale's Palladium!

Stephan has extensive experience in performance art, including many lines on his resume as a stuntman for movies such as While You Were Sleeping and Rookie of the Year, and Michael J. Fox's stunt double on the sitcom Spin City. Lina was born in Bulgaria, where she trained in Rhythmic Gymnastics. She moved to the US at the age of 18 and began working for Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus as a dancer. After a couple of years with the circus, she moved to Las Vegas and is currently a freelance performer at various Vegas venues. Check back here later this month to see their variete performance dates and burlesque dates here!