National Tap Dancing Day isn't until May 25th, but a celebration of this uniquely American art form began months ago in an obscure corner of San Diego with "Groove on Tap," an energized fusion of tap dancing and percussive music.

The soul of "Groove on Tap" is the multi-talented duo Claudia Gomez Vorce and Toby Ahrens.

Vorce is undoubtedly the area's most accomplished tapper. She's studied with tap masters such as Bunny Briggs and Savion Glover and performed in "Tap City," a weeklong tap festival and the film "GETAP." Ahrens is a cool rhythmic wizard on drums and beat box, or anything else nearby. He leads his own jazz band, has played with several local bands, and teaches drums, percussion and piano. The two started out jamming together and since January have performed monthly as an ensemble with special musical guests. They also performed at Sushi's "4X4" in February.

Last night, the second floor hall at Hot Monkey Love was packed with people of all ages for a special "Groove on Tap" performance with Vorce, Ahrens, and guests musician Todd Davidson and tapper Michela Marino-Lerman.

The program included 17 pieces that merged Island, Latin, Jewish, and military march rhythms, guitar, accordion, plastic grocery bags, and dazzling tap dancing.

In the old tap tradition, Vorce and Aherns challenged each other with rhythmic phrases that started as friendly soft riffs that grew in complexity till the combined beats sounded like a freight train. They clapped hands and patted puffs of plastic bags on their chests and thighs in playful unison. (Historians believe the tradition of using the body as a drum grew out of slave laws in the 1740's that prohibited the beating of drums for fear of slave uprisings).

Vorce used all parts of her feet to drum, scrape and tap the floor, and she was fond of heel-clicks with the ball of her foot firmly planted. Her arms and face were always relaxed, and she often smiled and closed her eyes. At times she hunkered over into deep-knee bends, but just as quickly, she'd raise her arms and laugh with joy. Aherns responded with crisp drumming, and they continued to mimic and playfully "one-up" each other as the crowd cheered them on.

The crowd was especially generous considering only those in the first two rows could actually see the fancy footwork. Hot Monkey Love is challenging venue for dance, as it's a big room with a flat floor, a small low stage and about 100 plastic lawn chairs. Dozens of savvy viewers grabbed some wall space hoping to see the action. Hot Monkey is a family friendly alcohol-free venue so there were dozens of youngsters and teens, but no beer. And nobody was drinking coffee, although it's called a café.

Actually, there was little time for anyone to slurp coffee. Aherns had two sections of the crowd competing in syncopated hand clapping, and only the worst dullard could keep still while watching Vorce and Marino-Lerman. The women wore identical dresses and tough, professional oxford style shoes, (no wimpy character shoes for them), and they whipped out jazzy percussive licks in witty repartee.

To the bluesy slide guitar of Davidson, Vorce did neat flap-hop-spins, then scraped the floor and triple-timed the stretchy guitar rhythm. Her feet moved with lightness and great speed. In a solo, Marino-Lerman stomped with hammering confidence and drew up onto the balls of her feet, then tossed her toes to the back. A cascade of long curls flew as she folded forward and back again, and throughout the most complex sequences, she maintained a fox-like grin. She's an award winning performer, choreographer and teacher in New York and credits mentors such as Buster Brown and Gregory Hines. Her vast experience was evident, but she wasn't on stage long enough to fully reveal her virtuosity. Let's hope she returns for a longer program.

Davidson was awarded San Diego Music Awards in 2001 and 2005, and he has opened for artists such as Prince and Depeche Mode. His guitar and accordion were a fine complement to the dancers. A sound mixing experiment with kids on stage was a yawner, except for the kid's parents, still he didn't get rattled and pulled it off well in the end.

Ironically, some of the most thrilling dancing was inspired by a simple time step. The time step is a basic, fundamental tap step and historically was a way for tappers to set the tempo for a band. Vorce and Marino-Lerman traded fierce versions of shuffle-hop-step, but added drags, triplets and whipping crossovers, all with precision and high speed; it was a powerful, heart-pounding showdown that you didn't want to end.

If you missed the show last night, don't fret. You can catch Vorce and Aherns tomorrow at the North Park Festival of the Arts and next month at Hot Monkey Love. Get there early if you want to see some fancy feet.

Download program here

Download program here