Rhythmic Circus is a live music and dance performance company based in Minneapolis, MN, that is known for transforming their tap shoes into instruments of rhythm. Blending their inventive style of tap dancing with an original brand of music that draws inspiration from genres spanning from Minneapolis funk to salsa, the company has built a reputation for leaving audiences on their feet and dancing in the aisles!

Although the company’s official inception was in 2007, the company’s core members have been collectively choreographing and performing together since 2000 and have recently opened for Savion Glover’s Bare Soundz, collaborated with Vocal Essence in Witness: A Tribute to Duke Ellington at the Ordway Performing Arts Center, and appeared in the Crash Bang Boom! Festival at the Minnesota Orchestra Hall.

Their current production, Feet Don’t Fail Me Now! premiered in August of 2008 at the Ritz Theatre in Minneapolis, MN when the group’s dancers and founders Nick Bowman, Ricci Milan, Kaleena Miller and Eddie Strachan joined forces with Twin Cities’ heavyweight musicians Alex Rossi, Corry Blanchard, Patrick Nelson, Dan Ristrom, Jason Marks, Elliot Blaufuss and Heatbox to infuse rapid-fire tap with high-spirited humor, toe-tapping rhythms and finger-snapping tunes. This unpredictable blend resulted in a novel music and dance experience that appeals to audiences of all ages.
In addition to their full concert, Rhythmic Circus is constantly performing locally and on the road in various performance formats ranging from lecture demonstrations to corporate events.

The Cast

Ricci Milan (dancer), a proud Minnesotan, has been professionally entertaining audiences for over 15 years. His talents and passion for life have given him the opportunity to perform with Savion Glover, Jason Samuels Smith and Kirk Franklin. He was a featured soloist in ONE at the Alabama Theatre in Myrtle Beach, SC, and in Tap Happy for Two at Tokyo Disneyland. He has choreographed and performed for the NFL, NBA and NCAA in addition to industrial shows for Best Buy, Target, PBS and Compaq. Ricci was a co-creator and choreographer for the nationally and internationally acclaimed tap dance company Ten Foot Five, which he toured with extensively for 10 years. Ricci currently tours with the Hall of Fame National Dance Competition, for which he is the head emcee and sound technician.

Nick Bowman (dancer) is one of the dance industry’s finest tap technicians and one of the most sought-after tap choreographers in the U.S. He is currently on faculty with the nation’s premier dance convention West Coast Dance Explosion, for which he has been the master tap teacher for the past 5 seasons. In addition to teaching for WCDE, he is constantly out on the road teaching for many dance organizations and workshops worldwide. His work is featured in nationally distributed educational videos and he recently developed and produced one of his own entitled Cheers! Nick’s credits as a performer are far too long to list, but he includes Caution Men at Work: TAP, Legends of Tap, Steppitapahtuma, and Buckets and Tap Shoes as a few of his favorites. He has appeared on many TV shows such as the Rosie O’Donnell Show, the Ellen Degeneres Show, and Dr. Phil. Nick currently resides in Minneapolis, MN, where he choreographs for the newly established Northern Force Dance Company, and directs the Sole City Youth Tap Ensemble, which he founded in 2005.

Kaleena Miller (dancer) has been tap dancing for over 20 years and is an accomplished performer, choreographer and teacher. She received her BFA in dance from the University of Minnesota and has since studied on scholarship in New York City with Manhattan Tap’s choreographer, Heather Cornell. In 2007 she won the Minnesota Sage Award for People’s Choice and has recently performed with Roxane Butterfly in Naari: The Women. Kaleena is proud to have performed nationally and internationally in Buckets and Tap Shoes and to have produced and choreographed the productions Scuff Marks and Flow, which premiered at the Ritz Theatre in Minneapolis, MN. In 2008, Kaleena was part of the collaborative project We Live Like This that appeared in the Minnesota Fringe Festival. She currently resides in Minneapolis where she hosts the semi-monthly tap jam and performance project The Cutting Board.

Eddie Strachan (dancer), trained in many disciplines spanning from tap dancing to gymnastics to musical theatre, is one of the most versatile dancers today. He received most of his early training in Huntington Beach, CA, where he was born and raised and has since become one of the most desired choreographers and performers in the nation. Eddie works for many independent dance companies worldwide and has recently hosted master classes at the renowned Urban Dance Center in Sydney, Australia. He has appeared on numerous TV shows including Ellen, Dr. Phil, and Good Day L.A., and he has appeared on ESPN. Eddie has worked with Disney and Jean Ann Ryan Productions, and is currently on faculty with one of the nation’s most highly regarded dance conventions, West Coast Dance Explosion.

Alex Rossi (guitar/vocals) is the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the Minneapolis based, funky blues band Root City. An innovative player and a strong vocalist who continually strives to evolve, Alex lends a breath of fresh air to his blues roots and is constantly attracting members of his generation who seem to sadly overlook the blues genre. As well as being the front man for the Root City Band since 1998, Alex was the original guitar player for the nationally acclaimed tap dance company Ten Foot Five. He has recently released his first solo album Fast Hennepin and currently plays regularly at Glueks in downtown Minneapolis as well as weekly gigs all over the Twin Cities.

Cornell Blanchard (keys/vocals) is one of the most sought-after performance and studio musicians in the Minneapolis area. He studied music, theatre and dance at the University of Minnesota-Duluth where he directed a handful of productions including Guys and Dolls and Sweet Chariot. Cornell is a core member in the Minneapolis based, funky blues band Root City as well as a member of 6 other Minneapolis bands including R Factor, The Dan Kusz Band, The Repair Company, Dan Ristrom and the Big Throw Down, 8 Switch and The House Band at Mylslacks on Thursdays.

Patrick Nelson (drums/vocals) has gained a reputation as a versatile musician in the Twin Cities area. He earned his B.A. in Music Education from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and has since maintained a regular performance and recording schedule with various groups as a drummer, bassist, and tuba player all over the Midwest. He has performed with the Jimmy Dorsey Jazz Orchestra, the Harry James Jazz Orchestra, Desdamona and others. Currently, Patrick lives in Minneapolis, MN, and is the drummer for the funky blues band Root City.

Dan Ristrom (bass/vocals) grew up singing and playing bass in his church and local jazz clubs and festivals nation-wide. He received a B.A. in Music Education with a Vocal Emphasis from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Dan has had the opportunity to play with many professional musicians including Robert Robinson, Debbie Duncan, Michael Bland and Tommy Barbarella and has toured extensively with Buckets and Tap Shoes throughout the United States, Canada and Russia. Dan currently plays regularly with Gold Standard, an original Minneapolis Funk band, who he recently traveled with to New Orleans to open for The Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

Jason Marks (trumpet) was born in a log cabin in the great wilderness outside of sweet, sunny San Diego at the tender age of four. On that fateful day he thought to himself, “Self, it’s time to go west young man.” So west he went, and wound up in the Far East. It was there that he met a guru of brass with a sweet mustache and a golden trumpet. He said, “Son, it’s time to go back east and take this message with you.” So Jason did, he went east, and wound up right here in the Mid-West, with a musical message — for you.

Eliot Blaufuss (saxaphone) has been playing music since the age of ten.  He has played many styles including: soul/funk, pop, jazz, bluegrass, country, gospel, latin, brazilian, reggae, and rock. He has been priviliged to perform with many, very talented artists such as: Debbie Duncan, Ipso Facto, Mick Sterling, Jearlyn Steele, Paul Diethelm (Johnny Lang) Michael Bland (Prince, Madonna, Soul Asylum), Margret Cox (Prince), Winston Fink (the Unbelievable Uglies), Eric Hutchinson and local legend, Johnny Holm.  Straight out of high school, Elliott went on the road with the Johnny Holm Band for four years until taking a leave in January of '08.  He now lives in South Minneapolis and continues studying, writing, teaching, and and performing all around the Twin Cities area.