Musicians and Tap Dancers, Enchanted by the Beat By JACK ANDERSON Roxane Butterfly celebrated the beat of life in the show she presented on May 9 at Symphony Space in Manhattan with members of BeauteeZ 'n the Beat, her all-female troupe of dancers and musicians. Styles ranged from tap — Ms. Butterfly is a French tap dancer — to the sinuous sways of Afro-Cuban dance and the headspins and acrobatics of hip hop. In addition to playing an assortment of instruments, some of the musicians danced, too. The participants included Goussy Celestin, Kyra D. Gaunt, Barbara Merjan, Nicki Parrot, Rokafella and Hannah-Leah, an 8-year-old whose tapping was enchantingly elfin. She was told that if she clicked her heels together three times, ``the fairy godmother of tap'' would appear. That magical personage was Tina Pratt, a guest artist, whose tap dancing was genial and whose stage presence was warm-hearted. As for the tall and lithe Ms. Butterfly, she was a true virtuoso capable of light, clear and often incredibly swift tapping. She could dart about like a butterfly on occasion and she performed elegant sliding steps as well as crisp percussive ones. She also recited poetic texts she had written. They ranged from rhapsodic tributes to the magical powers of women and "the Goddess" to a few gripes: for instance, a complaint that men take up too much room on the subway. But when she said that "dance and music are religions that don't shed any blood," men and women alike in the audience surely might have wanted to reply, "Amen!" Source: The New York Times

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