Untitled Document

Magic of rhythm

TAP & TRAY – the highlight of any event and a guarantee for professional entertainment!
International tap stars TAP & TRAY showcase a variety of styles, from ferociously fast Paddle-and-Roll rhythms to languid, elegant Soft Shoe to fiery a-cappella counterpoint. From first taps to last, these artists captivate the audience with thrilling, humorous, unforgettable performances.
TAP & TRAY inherited their vaudevillian specialty – dancing wildly while spinning large silver trays – from their late mentor, the great Carnell Lyons from Kansas City, Missouri.

Dancing and drumming on floor and trays the duo practically explodes in rhythmic fireworks.
Contemporary artists with a flair for old-time show business, TAP & TRAY will entice you into the magic world of rhythm.

The artists

Working together for over 20 years, Kurt Albert and Klaus Bleis have made TAP & TRAY one of the most successful European tap acts of all time. Based in Germany, the duo has performed throughout the US (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Hartford, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Kansas City), Europe, and Russia with virtually all of the finest tap dancers in the world.
Their training includes an apprenticeship with showbiz legend Carnell Lyons as well as intensive study with Motown legend Cholly Atkins, tap greats such as Charles “Honi” Coles and James “Buster” Brown, and tap guru Brenda Bufalino. Together they have worked with Bufalino’s “International Tap Dance Orchestra” in Germany and New York, Yogo Pausch’s “Dream Drummer Percussion Big Band” and in the funk tap show “Funked Up”.
Together with dancer Joshua Hilberman they produced the annual cult classic, “The World Championships of Paddle and Roll”, a parody of dance competitions.

Credentials

International:

– New York City “Tap City” 2014, International Tap Dance Festival
– New England Tour “Tap, Tray, and the Fool” 2012 (with Josh Hilberman)
– Boston “Lois’ Tap Lane - A Jazz and Tap Salut” 2011 (with Josh Hilberman, Brenda Bufalino)
– Malta / Vienna / Zurich “Tap Reloaded” 2010
– Paris “Tapage Nocturne” 2007 (with Leela Petronio and Sarah Petronio)
– Los Angeles “Rhapsody in Taps” 2007 (as guest artists in Linda Sohl-Ellison’s “Rhapsody in Taps LA Season Concert”)
– New York City “Tap City” 2001 / 2003 / 2006 (with Gregory Hines and Jimmy Slyde)
– Chicago “Tap! Tap! Tap!” 2004 (with Fayard Nicholas)
– New York City “Tap Extravaganza” 2004
– Boston “Rhythm at the Regent” 2002 / 2006
– North Carolina “Rhythm Tap Festival” 2004 / 2005 (with Brenda Bufalino, Dianne Walker, Josh Hilberman, Fay Ray)
– Portsmouth/New Hampshire “Portsmouth Percussive Dance Festival” 2005 / 2006 (with Brenda Bufalino, Josh Hilberman)
– Kansas City “Tap Dance Day Celebration”
– New England Tour 2002 (with Josh Hilberman)
– Moscow/Russia “Tap Parade Festival” 2002 (with Brenda Bufalino, Sarah Petronio, Savion Glover)
– Helsinki/Finland “Feet Beat Tap Festival” 2002 / 2006
– Cruise Ship MS EUROPA 2006 (from Hamburg/Germany to Lisbon/Portugal)
– Vienna/Austria “Tap Festival at the Ronacher”
– Mediterranian Sea “Jazz On Sea”, International Jazz Cruise with the “Clark Terry American All Star Band”
– Reus/Spain “Festival d’estiu Reus”
– USA / Germany Performances with Brenda Bufalino’s “International Tap Dance Orchestra (ITDO)”

In Germany:

– “Tap Is Back 2 Stuttgart” Tap Festival Stuttgart 2007
– ARD Sport-Gala
– “Starclub” Variety Theatre Kassel
– Documenta Kassel
– “42nd Street” Musicalcenter Stuttgart promotion tour
– International Tap Dance Festival Heidelberg
– International Tap Dance Festival Berlin
– International Tap Dance Festival Munich
– Jazz club Rödermark with the “Oliver Jackson All Star Band”

Press Reviews

New York Times, July 17, 2006:
“The German duo of Tap and Tray (Kurt Albert and Klaus Bleis) already have an enthusiastic New York following, and this was one of their best routines, a number that included some witty play with two steel trays. Best of all, they still look like closet dancers who have found an indulgent god in tap.”

New York Times, July 2001:
“... the tray-spinning Kurt Albert and Klaus Bleis, the Siegfried and Roy of tap.”

Village Voice, New York City, July 2002:
“At the 2001 festival, Germans Kurt Albert and Klaus Bleis paid tribute to Kansas City dancer Carnell Lyons (who moved to Germany in the ’50s) with a showstopping number, twirling waiters’ trays ... while they tapped.”

Chicago Tribune, May 2004:
“The German duo Tap & Tray made their Chicago debut with classic performance styles of the 1930s and 1940s, including one show-stopping number in which they twirled big silver trays while tapping in uninterrupted synchronicity. But while the tall, relaxed Kurt Albert and his shorter vivacious partner Klaus Bleis have resurrected a vaudevillian novelty approach to tap, they are remarkably avant-garde. Both bring a whimsical precision, speed and elegance to their astute and witty craftsmanship. And, although the spinning trays thrilled the audience, a segment in which they carved lithe musical phrases into the floor with effortless grace made the greater impression.”

New York Times, May 2004:
“All the Tap Dancers in New York ... from Savion Glover to Tap and Tray.”

Brenda Bufalino in „Tapping the Source“:
“Tap & Tray, from Germany, also had that old feeling, but their work was classic and hip. Even though they were spinning trays in their novelty act, their footwork, rhythms and live accompaniment made their work feel very contemporary.”