Reviews
Tap dance/music concerts
Prom 54 – Duke Ellington’s Sacred Music at the Royal Albert Hall – London Jazz News, 31 Aug 2019, UK
by Lauren Bush
Annette Walker excitedly slid onto the stage with a smile as she responded to the cries of the choir, “Dance! Dance!”… This was yet another element to the programme that brought delight and complexity… even watching her was exhilarating.
The closing invited Annette Walker out once again for David Danced… She began the piece with an impressive solo
Duke Ellington Sacred Concert, Colstan Hall, Bristol, UK – The Telegraph, 4 March 2013
tap dancer Annette Walker stamped down the aisles and hoofed it onto the stage with terrific pizzazz.
Bristol Jazz and Blues Festival, UK – Classical-music.com, 6 March 2013
[T]his tribute show was a sensation, as tap dancer Annette Walker danced through the audience, via a tabletop, then on to the stage, during ‘David Danced Before the Lord’
Feature: British Dance Edition goes south east, UK – Londondance.com, 6 February 2012,
Taal… a duel of tempo and physicality… Walker taps back like a prowling tigress; there’s a celebration of womanhood here as well as pure rhythm and movement.
Will Gaines – Purcell Room, London, UK – The Guardian, 8 April 2008
…and the jaunty pirouettes of Annette Walker were among the highlights of a show full of vivid personal choreography
Theatre
Edmund the Learned Pig – The Guardian, 21 Oct 2013
But the real ace up the production’s sleeve is the presence of aerialist Annette Walker, who finally conquers her vertigo to produce a breathtaking silk routine
Interviews
Strictly come tap dancing with “Strictly” winner Tom Chambers – The Telegraph, 14 September 2012
Annette is one of a new breed of dancers (known as “hoofers”) of “rhythm tap”, a vibrant, looser form that originated with American slaves and focuses more on improvisation and self expression than polished moves. This is also enjoying an underground revival in theatres and jazz clubs.
Annette Walker, a dancer and tap teacher, agrees. “People have always loved tap,” she says. “When it is more visible, they get excited and want to take part.”
This is for everyone. The People’s Opening Ceremony – Evening Standard, 30 July 2012
Annette Walker, another Poppins, said it was a childhood dream to fly like the magical nanny. The dancer, 35, from Catford said: “Mary Poppins was my favourite film when I was a kid and I always wanted to fly like her, but I never thought I’d get to do it.
“I’m a professional tap dancer but I can also do aerial work. When I went to audition I thought I’d be dancing but they asked me how I felt about heights. I said I was fine and then they said, ‘How do you feel about 40 metres?’ I didn’t realise how high that was until we got to the stadium and we started at 20 metres [65 feet 7in]. We all started looking at each other, going, ‘Oh my God!’”
Ms Walker said the hardest aspect was keeping quiet about her role. “I did drop a hint to my mum that she’d be better off looking up in the air for me rather than down on the ground. Other than that I didn’t tell anyone.
“I was a bit nervous about the brollies, in some rehearsals they didn’t open properly, but we knew everything would work on the night.”
Opening ceremonies aerialist will have bird’s eye view – US correspondent Clementine Jacoby – Mercury News, 27 July 2012
LONDON — Friday night, 80,000 people will flood the Olympic Stadium to watch the opening ceremonies — but very few of those people will enter through the roof. Annette Walker, a professional aerialist from London is one of thousands to perform in the spectacle, “Our Isles of Wonder.”
Annette Walker (Tap dancer, aerial artist, and front-end developer)
Involvement in the Olympics: Watch out for Annette in the Opening Ceremony! – May 2012, Goldsmiths, University of London
How did you first get involved with the Olympics?
Last year, I was asked if I’d be interested in taking part in the Opening Ceremony. After several auditions I was offered a couple of different roles and had to choose. Having to choose which role to accept to be in the Opening Ceremony is probably the best dilemma I have ever had!
Annette is a Goldsmiths College alumn (MA in Social Anthropology 2006, Diploma in Jazz & Pop Music Studies 2012)
