R&T Natsuo Shimizu

R&T (Rhythm & Tempo)

Founded in 2008, R&T is the sole Presenter of the Hong Kong Tap Festivals and a 3-year grant recipient of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. She is a professional tap dance company which creates, produces and merges sound and dance. Recent productions include the international scheme Hong Kong Tap Festival 10 Anniversary Exhibition and Gala, experimental crossover project Scribbles on White Wall, touring performance Bye Bye Bad Luck and so forth.

Shimizu Natsuo

Started to learn tap dancing at the age of 7 in the Hideboh’s Tap Dance school (Zatoichi’s choreographer), Natsuo worked with very famous artists (musicians, dancers and actors etc.) in Japan for some big events, stages or TV shows. He performed in the famous tap dance scene of the movie Zatoichi, then he also played the role of lead dancer ‘MAKOTO’ in the movie TAP: The Last Show of Yutaka Mizutani, a Japanese star actor & director. Natsuo also gave his performance in some entertainment shows produced by Junko Koshino, a world famous fashion designer.

Got the 3rd prize at the ‘Amateur Night at the Apollo’ in NYC, he has worked in HK with R&T (Rhythm & Tempo) for some workshops and the show Jazz It Up Online_2.0. His Urban Tap dance mentor, Tamangoh, invited him to Paris, Toulouse and Cayenne (F. Guyana) to create shows together for international dancing events. The scene of his a cappella tap dance in Danses Métisses got the greatest moment of standing ovation even if it was during the show.