" An intriguing company to watch is Mark Yonally's experimental Chicago Tap Theatre. Yonally, in particular, excels at solo Improvography, a combination of improvisation and composition set to Astor Piazolla's slow tango rhythms. Yonally plays his feet as if they are a castanets and bandoneon duo. If audiences close their eyes they will clearly hear a sensual trickling of his taps, which have the ability to whisper while emitting heart-pounding power."
"A Marvel of a work in progress, spunky and fresh."
"The dancing itself is straightforwardly satisfying, underlining, or playing off the music's rhythms while providing the story's details and emotion. And its thunderous reverberations, especially when all or most of the 11 cast members are performing, magnify the saga, giving it an operatic scope."
"Podiatric percussion invoking all the passion-driven excitement of flamenco... whoever would have guessed that such eloquent nuance could spring from so unlikely a medium as toe-taps and wing-jumps? Come and meet those prancing feet, cheer the good guys , boo the bad, and marvel at the resilience of the Chicago Tap artists who smile and sweat with such dazzling elan."
"Imagine some 20 tap dancers performing in a room that's, oh, maybe 30 feet by 30 feet. The floor was bouncing so hard during the rehearsal I watched I couldn't keep my pen on the paper. But the experience was undeniably thrilling Tapage's Tango Suite, like much of Yonally's choreography, is surprisingly sexy: who knew the effect a dragged toe could have."
"With a bam! and a zowie! choreographer Mark Yonally slam-dunks his most recent fusion of comic books and tap dance, The Hourglass and the Poisoned Pen... Yonally's Poisoned Pen is malice incarnate, for example, in a solo whose forceful contrapuntal dancing brings home his power and intelligence. Fluffy yet smart, the piece lets you kick back without going brain-dead."
“Chicago Tap Theatre’s loving tribute to 65-year-old modern-rhythmic dance barrier-breaker Bill Evans is an experience of intimate and symphonic proportions. The concert placed tap on a deep, conceptual scale while reveling in the body’s natural tongue-in-cheek rhythms.”
"A live band and a dozen tap dancers prove a potent concoction in "Mixology"...The onstage musicians make company favorites like Glory Box and Troch Trio really pop...the closing number, set to a devilishly quick version of "Summertime," is especially impressive. But Yonally also includes softer, more intimate solos and duets, including his ambiguous new solo, Breathe Me, for otherworldly dancer Kendra Jorstad and singer Leslie Beukelman. Here you get a look at the individual dancer, as you do in the lighthearted "heritage" duet Class Act, performed by Yonally and the sly Sarah Dahnke."
"Yonally performed two improvographies, Night in Tunisia, with great musical sensitivity to rhythmic phrasing, and Tapgo with subtle tango rhythms articulated by legs and feet as his torso hovered above."
"You will be treated to murder, hostage-taking, vengeance-seeking and knock-down, drag-out fighting along the way. Each of [Chicago Tap Theatre's] dancers is a stylish tapper deft at playing a role. And Yonally's inventive choreography never fails to make tap a great deal more than simple telegraphy."
“Since Poe’s output was more symbolic and allegorical than literal, and ultimately more concerned with creating mood, the idea of his prose and poetry as a source and as its theatrical experimental rhythm tap-capable of shading, various degrees of intensity and unexpected attacks-is inspired.”
"They’re sharp. They’re fast. They’re fun. And Chicago Tap Theatre will astound you. I knew when I first saw CTT in 2004 that they were the one to watch, the Windy City’s it dance company. CTT’s remarkable blend of theatre and dance is just perfect for BTE’s presented event. If you see any dance performance this year, make it this one."
"(An) example of how an evening of diverse rhythmic dance stylings can highlight the forms intricacy and sophistication Chicago Tap Theatre offers a high happy-dance quotient that can turn dark and self-satiric on a dime. Yonally's Glory Box, a tap-meets-MTV dance of collective heartbreak, demonstrates taps capacity for storytelling."
"Angels," a work for seven performers, enjoys an architectural complexity that ably demonstrates Yonally's intentions, the dancers deftly weaving in and out of a series of interesting formations..."Glory Box" not only evokes a seductive, come-hither ambience, but dynamically, defiantly echoes in tap the forceful strains in its raging score....But there's no denying Yonally's own inimitable solo power...Yonally with his zippy, fast-footed attack, glows as an intriguing tap persona for our time...He is matched by the sensational Kendra Jorstad, whose daredevil angles and remarkable athleticism n
“The troupe’s goal is to tell stories through the meticulous use of tap techniques, turning the beats generated by their tap shoes into something akin to the conversations between characters. [...] All in all, this is a fascinating experiment in dance theater, and one that has great potential for further exploration. Can you just see it? ”Romeo and Juliet: The Tap version.”
"The most satisfying works, presented on Nov. 9, gently prompted aural and visual dialogue, whether a coyly operatic take on heartbreak by Jump Rhythm Jazz Project; a vintage 1940s tap salute to romantic persistence by Chicago Tap Theatre; or the intense improvisational sincerity of M.A.D.D. Rhythms, Yonally's Torch Trio flows through a breezy and finely executed theatrical narrative about a likeable schmo's quest for a date."
"It's easy to see tap dance as monochromatic- yet variety is what makes Mark Yonally's new company, which consists of him and nine women, appealing. It's not surprising that in his choreography Yonally uses such musical principles as canon, unison, and syncopation. But add the visual interest of the dancers' arrangements on stage and their interactions, whether they're looking over their shoulders at a solitary figure or leaning together in a companionable group, and you get a satisfying mix of aural pleasures and the emotional pull of dance theater. An intimate, heart-rattling experience."
“CTT is taking [traditional tap] that step further,... telling stories through tap that aren’t only stories... they’re entire dramas. It is very much of a conceptual company, they do a dance drama piece in tap, like a balletic repertory company. […] CTT works so well with Tapage because they bring a similar sensibility but they also do comic works and very fun pieces.”
"The enlightening evening, with works choreographed by Chicago Tap's artistic director Mark Yonally and Tapage's leader, Valerie Lussac, demonstrated each company's distinctive yet complementary qualities. Yonally's soft, lilting dance style is well suited to Lussac's delicate intricacy. And, because both ensembles break free of standard face-front tap structure rooted in pure-rhythmic interpretation, they have an affinity for acting, embrace the idea of meaningful stillness and draw unexpected sounds form their shoes. Chicago Tap Theatre showed off its relaxed virtuosity in the Broadway-esque story piece, Torch Trio and featuring an emotionally raw solo of heartbreak by Heidi Malnar. The concert proved taps countless possibilities for expansion. Liaison illustrated that, essentially, tap is a language of shared human emotions."