Speakeasies, radio plays and jazz: Visit the Roaring '20s with Cape Symphony this weekend
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For the past several weeks, longtime ballroom dance partners Adam Spencer and Angel Fox have been rehearsing inside a small, taped-off strip of space in their studio, Adam in Chatham.
They have been limiting themselves to a narrow space to prepare for this weekend’s performance at the Cape Symphony’s “The Roaring ‘20s!” The couple will dance classics, including the Charleston and the jitterbug, in the strip between where the musicians are seated and the edge of the stage.
“More of our time went into choreographing bits that would fit into the space without interrupting the live musicians behind us,” said Fox, a Plymouth resident and one of three teachers at the studio. "It is wonderful to dance to live music ― you can actually feel the music."
“We have been rehearsing in almost a hallway to create that depth and width. Because the foxtrot and the quick step – that stuff really moves a lot,” she said. “Floor craft is the ability of the leader to be able to navigate the space and it is a lot of (what's important in) ballroom dancing.”
The Cape Symphony’s “The Roaring ‘20s!” concert on Feb. 11 and 12 will take audiences back to the glamorous era of early Hollywood, radio plays and jazz-filled nightclubs. The orchestra will be joined by hosts and conductors Drew Zaremba and Kyle Gordon.
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“Drew and Kyle are so passionate about the Roaring ‘20s, they developed a high-energy variety show for orchestras about the age of speakeasies, the rise of Hollywood royalty, and the birth of jazz,” Jung-Ho Pak, the Cape Symphony’s artistic director and conductor, wrote in a release about the show. “These enormously talented composers and conductors will entertain our audiences with the culture and entertainment of the 1920s; it’ll feel like you jumped in a time machine!”
Spencer and Fox will be dancing what she described as vignettes to demonstrate different types of music and dance pairing, including the quick-step numbers, the foxtrot and some soft-shoe steps as popularized by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
“I have two costumes,” Fox says. “A longer, more classic dress for the Fred and Ginger dance styles and a ‘Great Gatsby’ themed dress that is short with fringe and sequins. That thing will just pick up the lights and run with them.”
The Cape Symphony will also accompany two short silent movies from Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton with new scores written by Drew and Kyle.
When is Cape Symphony's 'Roaring '20s' performance and where can you buy tickets?
What: “The Roaring ‘20s”
Who: Cape Symphony and guests
When: Saturday, Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday at 3 p.m.
Where: Barnstable Performing Arts Center, 744 West Main St., Hyannis
Tickets: www.capesymphony.org or, call the Box Office at 508-362-1111, email tickets@capesymphony.org, or visit the Box Office in its new location at 2235 Iyannough Road, West Barnstable. The Cape Symphony box office is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Symphony brings 'Roaring '20s' to life in song, film and dance
