Meet Bill Simpson: tap choreographer and performer in Strictly Gershwin

Performer, choreographer, educator, and all-round tap extraordinaire Bill Simpson choreographed the piece for our 2016 season and we are delighted to welcome him back to grace the Brisbane stage once again, alongside fellow tappers Kris Kerr and Rachael Walsh. Here, Bill shares insight into the musical artform of tap dance and what audiences can expect from this special piece.  

You choreographed the tap performance for our Strictly Gershwin back in 2016. Tell us a little about how you approached a project like this and your choreographic process?

I wanted to find the best possible balance between the intricacy of the footwork and the beautiful, elegant movement that a show like Strictly Gershwin demands. Tap is such a rhythmic artform – the musicality of the footwork needs to be compelling – but also as a dance form, the movement also needed to be on point. Both ingredients are equally important, so I aimed to create choreography exciting to both the ear and the eye, and hopefully something different to what a ballet-going audience would normally see, that complements the other numbers we see throughout the show. I saw my role as creating beauty, elegance and magic for the audience, and I hope they feel I delivered.

What do you think of the production as a whole?

It’s glorious. It wraps you up in this beautiful dream and just holds you from start to finish! I love it and I’m thrilled to be a part of it again.

Any standout memories from your time with Queensland Ballet in 2016?

The warm welcome that the tap dancers received. Sometimes in the arts, it feels as though tap dancers are looked down upon; to some, tap is seen as an outlier in the arts world – both dance and music, yes, but also not quite either. We weren’t sure what to expect from the dancers and creative team, but everyone in the production was just so wonderful to us; so respectful, so welcoming, and so appreciative of what we brought to the show. That really resonated with me, and I’ve remembered it ever since. It’s one of the reasons I was so willing to come back to do the show again.

What do you love about the artform of tap?

I love that it sits very much on its own, somewhere between dance and music. It is so incredibly beautiful that it strikes this balance between dancer and musician, because as a dancer we get to move and experience the glorious feeling of movement. But the beauty of tap is that we also connect with the music (and become it!) in a way that no other artform really can.

Something challenging about the artform that people may not be aware of?

What makes it challenging is the same thing that makes it special. We must be both a dancer and musician, and for some that can be overwhelming, especially in the beginning phase of learning the artform. On the flip side, what a lot of people don’t realise about tap is that even though it looks intricate and detailed, which of course it is, the entire tap vocabulary is made from a very small number of very basic steps. It’s achievable for anyone at any age. A challenge, but one with a significant silver lining.

You’ve built a life around the artform of tap dance - tell us about Taptopia.

Taptopia is an online tap dance community which my partner and I started during the pandemic to stay connected with other tap dancers across the world, and as a way for people to continue on their tap journey while in lockdown at home. We made so many incredible connections through that experience and we all decided we didn’t want it to end, even as the world began to open up again. Since then, it has grown to become not only a global tap community, but also a library of instructional video courses and an archive of classes that we’ve shared over the last two years. It’s a very special thing and I’m just so glad to have it out there for people across the world, particularly those who may not necessarily have access to a metropolitan hub or a tap class at their level.

Where to from here – what are you working on next?

The next project I’m planning is a short film based upon an intricate piece of choreography, that tells a wordless story of a tap dancer. I’m also working with a good friend to bring a new production to the stage. And I’m proud to be a regular contributor at the Australian Tap Dance Festival. There are always a bunch of creative projects that I’ve got lined up at any given time!

And finally, why should people see Strictly Gershwin?

It wraps you up in a beautiful dream, carries you away for the duration of the show and leaves you feeling warm, nourished, excited and very, very entertained!