'Noise/Funk' steps it up

Winner of four 1996 Tony Awards, "Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk" will play at 8 p.m. tonight and Wednesday at the IU Auditorium. \nThe show uses tap dance to illustrate and celebrate the history of African-Americans. It is a journey through the colonial era, the Civil War and the present using tap, poetry, lighting, song and percussion. \n"The show is timeless," said Savion Glover, the show's creator. "The show is a big chunk of history you can't get anywhere else."\nDirected by George C. Wolfe and choreographed by Glover, both of whom won Tony Awards for their work in the show, the musical started as a workshop during the summer of 1995 at the Public Theater in New York City. In April of 1996, the show transferred to Broadway where it was widely acclaimed by critics and audiences. On Broadway, the musical received nine Tony Award nominations. \n"I wanted to see how tap could not just tell stories, but how it could really convey really complicated emotion," Wolfe said in a 1996 interview in the "Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk" Commemorative Journal. "With this show, I wanted to see how we could use tap to convey desires and drives -- how it could become a source of delight, intensity, rage or power."\nGlover did not participate in the first tour, but returned to the show in the lead role for the current tour, which began in August 2002 in Atlanta. Glover said the show not only fuels the dancers' creativity, but also inspires the audience. "Noise/Funk" is not only entertaining but also educational, providing an insight into the black experience in America and the history of tap as a dance form, he said.\n"We're allowing the audience to see what they haven't seen before -- the early birth of the artform," Glover said. "The show allows the audience to experience it in an educational way."\nAccording to the show's Web site, Glover won the 1996 Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award for choreography, two Obie Awards and two Fred Astaire Awards for his performance, as well as the 1996 Dance Magazine Choreog-rapher of the Year Award. He made his Broadway debut at age 12 starring in "The Tap Dance Kid." Additional Broadway credits include "Black and Blue and Jelly's Last Jam," co-starring Gregory Hines. Glover made his film debut at age 13 in "Tap" with Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis, Jr.\nTickets for the show are available at the IU Auditorium box office or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets range from $17 to $37 for IU students with a valid ID and from $32 to $57 for the general public. For more information, call 855-1103.