SHAY KUEBLER AND DANNY NIELSEN

At the end of a week-long creative residency at ArtSpring, Shay Kuebler and Danny Nielsen present a rough cut of Figure Eights.

Radical System Art’s Shay Kuebler and tap artist Danny Nielsen have been working together for six years, in an ongoing collaboration which has taken them around the world. Their new creation, Figure Eights, is inspired by the golden age of tap and jazz, and especially the iconic 1959 ‘duelling drums’ piece of the title, by celebrated drummers Max Roach and Buddy Rich. Paying tribute to the artistic giants of the past and the magic of the classic duet format, Kuebler and Nielsen use their distinctive rhythm-charged style to mash together percussive and non-percussive forms – and through thrilling physicality, speed and musicality, find a uniquely contemporary voice.