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IMPRESSIONS FROM BOSTON: Caleb Teicher & Conrad Tao in "COUNTERPOINT"
By Christine Jowers/Follow @cmmjowers on Instagram
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Published on February 12, 2025
Conrad Tao and Caleb Teicher. Photo: Robert Torres
Presented by Celebrity Series of Boston
WHO: Tap dancer Caleb Teicher and pianist Conrad Tao
WHERE: Boston Arts Academy Theater
WHEN: Saturday, February 8, 2025 at 8 PM
MORE INFO: Click here
Conrad Tao, pianist and composer, and Caleb Teicher, tap dancer and choreographer, met as teens in 2011 when both exceptional artists were awardees of the YoungArts Foundation. At a recent sharing of their work with students at the Boston Arts Academy, Teicher recalled their first experience of Tao, remembering the musician described one of his early compositions as, “music [that] is supposed to distill what love means.”
“We were teenagers,” Teicher laughs, “I knew we knew nothing about what love means.”
Later, in 2013, as part of a YoungArts alumni interdisciplinary program, the two were reacquainted. This time the artists, both appreciators and explorers of their respective forms, collaborated, playing with structures and improvisation together. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Now, more than a decade later, Teicher describes the relationship with Tao as one where they are always talking and wondering about whether their work, in this case their show COUNTERPOINT, is dance, music, or both.
Conrad Tao on piano and Caleb Teicher tapping. Video by Christine Jowers
For me, COUNTERPOINT is not only both music and dance, but also more importantly, an abundantly joyful, soul-satisfying evening of artistic conversation. The performance contains all the elements our most treasured conversations have: mutual respect, a free flowing-back-and-forth where dialogue easily shifts from topic to topic (no matter how unrelated those topics might seem); intelligence moving in, out, and around; passion giving way to moments of quiet, thoughtful reverie; seriousness punctuated by flashes of humor, fun, and silliness.
The evening begins and ends with excerpts of “Aria” from the Goldberg Variations, a work I have loved over the years, but to experience it the way Tao and Teicher perform it offers the gift of new sensations.
Teicher moves gently on the stage as if not wanting to disturb the pensive quality of the piece’s beginning. He turns, sliding, swirling. His sounds, light scratchings and kitten paw touches, dance between the notes Tao plays alerting us to listen to them. As the music crescendos, gaining exuberance and speed, the two take the opportunity to tease one another, almost in the manner of call and response.
One has to a note that the ebony grand piano set at a diagonal against the navy background of the raw backstage at BAA is absolutely stunning—some might say sexy. I’m not sure by this time what piece I am listening to or watching (the thing about excellent artistic conversation is that one gets lost in it). But, on the topic of “is it music or dance,” I notice Tao’s shoulders rise and fall and he plays. His elbows jut sideways, one-at-a-time and then simultaneously in their own choreography. I can see the wildness of his fingers in the reflection of the piano. I wonder if he might jump out of his chair. He doesn’t, of course, he has to continue playing. But he does lift his torso and bottom right off the bench. One day he will jump, I’m sure. He is a dancer.
Teicher cites one of the greatest tap duos of all time, Charles “Honi” Coles and Brenda Bufalino. Performing the “Coles and Bufalino Soft Shoe” Teicher reminds us through movement of the elegant reserve of the dapper Coles combined with the feisty quality of the petite Bufalino. We are also reminded that artistic conversations don't spring out of the ether. A lineage of talent and care has developed the particular artistry we experience here today.
A singing, slapping, tapping “Song and Dance” based on Mozart’s Sonata in A Major, K.331 lll Allegretto “Alla Truca” displays choreographer David Parker’s impressive ability to give classical music a down-to-earth and savvy rhythmic re-think. Performed with aplomb by Teicher, this piece reminds me of someone (of extreme talent) boisterously singing and dancing in the shower as if nobody’s watching. So enjoyable.
All through the evening, we’ve been privy to the excellent conversation between Tao and Teicher, but during George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue we feel absolute participants in it. Arranged for solo piano and played with utmost sensitivity, vivacity, and fervor by Tao, the work is by far the sensation of the performance. Alone Tao astounds us, but with Teicher’s musical theater showmanship and sonic sensitivity, the work is exponentially enhanced. We are reminded of how remarkable Gershwin’s musical composition is, and how fortunate we are to hear and visualize it through this duo.
Perhaps as a teenagers Conrad Tao and Caleb Teicher had no idea of the real meaning of love, but for sure, the care and generosity with which they share their experiences and conversations in COUNTERPOINT reveals a deep awareness of it.
Program Notes:
What was played and danced
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J.S. Bach “Aria” from the Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
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Conrad Tao/Caleb Teicher Improvisation
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Arnold Schoenberg “Walzer” from Five Piano Pieces, Op. 23
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Ray Noble/ Bud Powell/Art Tatum “Cherokee”
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Charles “Honi” Coles & Brenda Bufalino The Coles and Bufalino Soft Shoe
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Johannes Brahms Intermezzo in E Major, Op. 116, no. 4
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W.A. Mozart/David Parker Song and Dance, based on Mozart’s Sonata in
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A Major, K.331: III. Allegretto “Alla Turca”
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Tao/Teicher “Swing 2” from More Forever
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George Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue, arr. for solo piano
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Maurice Ravel “Mouvement de menuet” from Sonatine
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J.S. Bach “Aria” from the Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
