In less than a decade, James Devine (performer, choreographer, director) has emerged as a multi-talented leader in the percussive dance world. Not only certified by the Guinness World Records as “The Fastest Dancer in the World,” Devine is a master Irish dancer and Hoofer. His unique fusion of Irish dance with Rhythm Tap, "Celtic Tap," has earned him critical acclaim worldwide.
Possessing a fast and vigorous percussive dance style, his lightening-quick moves have been likened to "manic typewriters," "talking drums" and "tap tornado." Roslyn Sulcas, The New York Times critic has called him "a delight halfway between Fred Astaire elegance and Savion Glover hunkered-down brilliance. He's appeared on major television shows worldwide including the Oscar ceremony of the 69th Annual Academy Awards, and his choreography has been featured on television and theatre stages the world over.
Irish-born Devine followed in his mother's footsteps when he had his first dance lesson at the tender age of eight. Having lost the power in her legs due to an illness, his mother (a former champion dancer) used her fingers to tap out the rhythms of a beat on the back of his hand. He repeated the patterns with his feet. At the age of 14 he achieved the highest honor bestowed on an Irish dancer by winning "The Grand Slam" - World, American, British, and All-Ireland titles in the same year. He is the only Irish man ever to accomplish this feat.
In 1996 he was approached by Riverdance's Michael Flatley to star in his new international smash hit show, Lord of the Dance and performed in the global tour.Whilst performing at Radio City Music Hall, Devine was already thinking of leaving "Lord of the Dance" when he caught Savion Glover and George C. Wolfe's landmark Bring in Da Noise Bring in Da Funk in 1997. Under its spell, Devine briefly signed up for rhythm tap lessons.
Between 1998 and 2000 he went to Australia to choreograph, direct and perform the lead role in the world tour of the hit dance show GaelForce. This was the first large-scale Irish dance show to have live tapping. As principal dancer with the company he was honoured to be the first male dancer outside opera and ballet to perform at the Opera Naradowa (Grand Theatre) in Warsaw in its 200-year history.
Between 2001 and 2005 many one-off projects followed including embarking on a North American Workshop Tour in 2001 and 2002 where he taught over 3,000 dance enthusisasts the art form of Irish Dance. In 2004 he performed on tour with Jose Feliciano, six-time Grammy Award winning Guitarist. In March 2005 he was invited as Special Guest Artist with Ragús Irish Music & Dance Show on their Eastern European Tour.
Later that year he began his career directional change by returning to New York City, immersing himself in tap dancing and in exploring the percussive side of Irish dance as it influenced and was influenced by other genres in tap.
In February 2006 James left New York City to begin work on a new solo project, TAPEIRE, which premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the summer of 2006 to critical acclaim. This multimedia work (dance, music, percussion, and archival film footage) saw Devine explore the vast historical spectrum of Irish dance presenting the dance as innovative expression not confined by the codified restrictions of ensemble line dancing in Irish shows.
After the success of Edinburgh Devine founded his own production entity "Devine Dance Company" and brought his TAPEIRE beat to North America with a three week sell-out Broadway residencey at the New Victory Theatre, a sell-out run at the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, preceded by a four week Canadian tour. Tapeire was also invited to perform on the popular daytime television show Live with Regis and Kelly in NYC.
Other highlights in 2007 included being invited to the International New Year celebrations at the World Trade Center in Hong Kong, China, where he lead and taught tap dancing to more than 1,000 local and international dancers in an attempt at a 2,007-minute (33-hour) dance marathon.
2008 saw Devine devise a new production, CELTIC TAP, focusing his efforts on merging global music influences with his art. From Scottish, Irish & Cape Breton to jazz, rock, funk, country and classic hoofing, Devine marked his Boston Premiere at the ICA (Institute for Contemporary Arts) with sell-out shows and critical acclaim from the media.
"The sheer rhythmic invention of Devine's industrious feet set him well above the fray, and that includes "Riverdance" phenom Michael Flatley, who he left in the dust long ago."
Karen Campbell, The Boston Globe
