A Return to Philadelphia in Backward and in Heels

Add one gallon of talent, a pint of flexibility, six cups of dance and a hardy helping of humor and what do you get? The cure for the winter blues—David Parker and The Bang Group, a creative stew consisting of vaudevillian, old Hollywood, and contemporary dance.  Even after performing for more than a decade, David Parker and The Bang Group still leave audiences hungry for more.  

The Bang Group was formed in New York City with the help of its creator David Parker, a man with a wild vision and passion for dance.  As a professional dancer for 29 years and choreographer for seventeen years, Parker has been eating, sleeping and breathing dance his entire life.  So it’s no surprise that he wanted to make a living by being creative without the need for a second, third or fourth job—a common obstacle in the dance industry. 

Since Parker had such a diverse dance background, which included tap, modern, character and a copious other dance forms, he wanted to celebrate all types of dance.  He aspired to create an eclectic dance company based on rhythm, but not rhythm in the traditional sense.  Parker explains, “I felt that rhythm and dance were like speaking.  If a choreographer can use rhythm and dance in a meaningful way, audiences would pay attention not because it was impressive or dazzling, but because it was communicating something.” 

Back then, creating a rhythmic dance company sounded like a fabulous idea, but there were a few wrinkles in the tights, figuratively speaking.  Along with efforts to find ways to fund his new project, Parker ran into a much larger obstacle. Parker confesses: “The biggest challenge is fitting yourself into a culture that has not made the arts a priority.  We have to defend the value of what we do all of the time.  A baseball player would never have to defend the value of baseball.  We have to continue to say that dance is important.”

Through persistence, imagination and gumption, Parker and The Bang Group were able to sustain a successful career in the performing arts industry on their own terms and in their own way.

Parker’s style is his own.  Not only does he draw inspiration for choreography from dance legends such as Merce Cunningham and George Balanchine, he is also influenced by Hollywood and silent movies of the early 20th century. “Silent movies to me are like a form of ballet: they are Movement Theater,” he says. “The words have so little to do with silent movies and I’ve learned so much about the eloquence of jester and posture and timing.”  Parker’s other source of inspiration is quite surprising.  He looks to the cosmos and science. “I’m inspired by the chaos theory and the underlying structures on how the universe is,” he explains. “I try to find ways to organize movement.  ”

So what brings an industrious New York City dancer and choreographer to Philadelphia? Rich Rubin, founder of Philadelphia based Quince Productions and co-producer of Parker’s latest creation, Backward and in Heels.  Rubin left his digs in New York City and moved to Philadelphia about three and a half years ago because he felt that there was an art revitalization happening in Philadelphia, which he desperately wanted to be part of. 

“Since the Philadelphia art scene is still developing, people don’t take it for granted,” says Rubin. “Plus you can do a whole production in Philadelphia for what it costs to rent a light in New York. And people have been so much more cooperative and easy to deal with here.”

Needless to say, it wasn’t very difficult for Rubin to convince David Parker and The Bang Group to pack up their costumes and travel down the New Jersey turnpike to the City of Brotherly Love, to showcase their latest work, Backward and in Heels. 

The title comes from the following quote: “Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, except backward and in high heels.” This very modern performance evokes the big-name talent from the past.

“Backward and in Heels is kind of an umbrella title for a series of dances that are about the wish to show yourself; the wish to perform; the wish to expose who you are; and the wish to seek love through what you do.  And Backward and in Heels is kind of like the metaphor for just what you have to do to get to it,” Parker comments.

Even if you would rather watch a football game then attend a professional dance revue, give Backward and in Heels a try.  There’s something for everyone, from humor to technical proficiency as the performers create art and sounds with their bodies and communicate by using movement.  And most importantly, you’ll be thoroughly amused for an hour and ten minutes.

Audiences can expect to see barefoot tap dancing; dancers wearing Velcro suites and making percussive beats in the award-winning “Slapstuck;” the world premiere of “Annie Get Your Gun;” and other zany performances.  What makes this show extra special is that David Parker and The Bang Group will be working with several young dancers from the Philadelphia area to perform in a piece called “Nut/Cracked,” a fusion of tap, disco, swing, hip-hop and classical ballet.

“They’ve got a real sense of humor about them.  Sometimes you’ll see an audience go into the theater all serious and something will happen.  You can see and feel a vibe of I think this is funny, but this is dance.  Am I supposed to laugh?  Then it becomes so clear that you can’t help, but laugh,” raves Rubin.

David Parker and The Bang Group will be performing in Backward and in Heels at the Painted Bride Art Center from January 24th through the 26th.  Opening night reception includes a meet and greet with the performers, food and drink provided by Susanna Foo, Fork, Brew HaHA, Naked Chocolate Café and more.  For tickets, call the Painted Bride Art Center at (215) 925-9914 or visit www.paintedbride.org .  For more information on David Parker and The Bang Group, go to www.thebanggroup.com .  

Candice Hynoski lives in Devon, PA.