Kitano at Toronto

[Don Brown]

>And the grand finale is a real eyeopener. A synchronised chorus line of
>geishas and peasants in wooden clogs actually do tapdance a 10 minute
>(?)number that has elements of Stomp, Tap Dogs and a heavy dose of Savion
>Glover. The accompanying music is produced with Kodo type drums, hammers
>and similar noises which are syncopated, rather than musical instruments.

Kitano called on tap group The Stripes to choreograph and appear in the 
grand finale. He became acquainted with them two years ago when they 
appeared on his TV arts variety show "Takeshi no Dare Demo Pikaso". He 
subsequently saw them live, and got them to teach him tap dancing, and made 
the tap dance scene especially for them. The Stripes appear as four farmers 
who lead 60 people in the giant tap dancing scene. Kitano doesn't do the 
soft shoe shuffle in the scene himself, despite having been forced to learn 
the art in his early days as a comedian in Asakusa.
Traditional straw sandals were adapted for tap dancing, and.the dance 
rhythm was beaten out by improvised instruments, as The Stripes do in their 
live performances. As befits the rural setting, they used hoes, spades and 
hammers. During filming, Takeshi's home apparently served as a training 
studio for the improvement of the tap sequence.  

Don Brown

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