Photo Credit Vanessa Meade
- "...utterly brilliant...they are virtuoso percussive players on, yes, buckets, and extraordinary tap dancers, as capable of channeling hip-hop as Astaire-like suavity.
- NY TIMES, Oct 2007
- "...amazing, contagious energy and joy unconfined."
- NY Observer, Oct 2007
- Jaw-dropping tap dancing.
- Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE
Since 1997, BUCKETS AND TAP SHOES -- a unique company of musicians, percussionists and rhythm tap dancers -- has astounded audiences, creating intense driving rhythms with 5-gallon buckets, metal cans, barrels, found objects and tap shoes. Their appearance at the 2004 Minnesota Fringe Festival earned Best of the Fringe honors and was named Best dance performance of the past 12 months in the Minneapolis City Pages "Best of 2005".
Their performance in the 2007 Fringe Festival garnered another Best of the Fringe award and this review:
"Feeling down, blue, traumatized? This show'll fix you right up. It 's the new tap generation, and it's funky, fantastically fast, a little bit Zen, and lots of happy. Since Buckets and Tap Shoes debuted at the 2004 Fringe, the Ausland brothers (Rick and Andy) have tightened and brightened their routines. Gone is the wild novelty of their earlier iteration. Now they're downright professional, but still totally fun." CAMILLE LEFEVRE, Star Tribune
Founded by brothers Rick and Andy Ausland, BUCKETS AND TAP SHOES was born when the Minneapolis natives teamed up with three friends for a dance competition. Since then, the brothers have collaborated with musicians and dancers, touring internationally and "transferring the innovation and spontaneity of street performing to the stage."Caroline Palmer, City Pages, MN.
“… rocked the house…our audience absolutely loved them... perfectly delightful (in addition to being incredibly talented).” Carolyn Butler, Duvall Cultural Commission, Duvall WA
