TapTronic dancers step up their step-dancing game - VIDEOS

Ciaran Plummer and Zach Klingenberg, the men of TapTronic, rehearse in
the dance studio. Photo by Brian Doherty Photography.

The men of TapTronic stomped onto the Internet scene about a year ago, and the fast-footed duo shows no signs of stopping the stepping.

Since posting viral video "Crave You" to YouTube in April 2012, Irish dancers Ciaran Plummer and Zach Klingenberg toured the world with "Lord of the Dance" and managed to choreograph and shoot two more high-quality music videos featuring percussive dancing to the sounds of electronic tracks -- all while living on the road.

The latest remix music video, "Hold Your Breath," shows the guys' evolution of style and showmanship. There's a noticeable focus on hip-hop, and the addition of world-class Irish dancer Colin Fleck contributes to TapTronic's evolving identity.



"It’s still a fusion of Irish dance and electronic music, but we’re trying to see how we can get involved in other styles of music," Klingenberg said during a recent interview by Skype. "For me, it's cool to start to bridge the gap to move into hip-hop."

Plummer said the transition into different musical genres isn't one that will be abrupt, so fans of their electronic remixes need not fret.

"We wouldn’t go from electronic to old shcool rock-and-roll. It would evolve, but it wouldn’t jump," Plummer said. "Next video you’ll see it evolve even more as we keep trying to grow."

Adding another dancer to the mix for "Hold Your Breath" presented a new, exciting and necessary challenge for TapTronic.

Klingenberg trained with Fleck, the third dancer to appear in "Hold Your Breath," as a kid. Then they toured together with Plummer for "Lord of the Dance."

"He’s going to be pretty regular," Plummer said of Fleck. "From the beginning, as soon as we wanted to expand, he was on the top of our list."



The TapTronic founders do admit that they've had a formula and purpose all along, but they're pretty allusive when it comes to revealing details. They won't fully disclose the "grand plan," but they do admit to seeing TapTronic expand, and eventually, they'll need a more dancers on board to accomplish the goals they've set. Plummer and Klingenberg said that they plan to continue bringing other dancers into the mix, building what will likely become a TapTronic troupe.

Aside from the promise of growing the group to include more dancers, the guys also announced that they were invited to dance at the North American National Irish Dance Championships next week in Anaheim, Calif -- much to the delight of many dancers, undoubtedly.

With three Internet hits, TapTronic has a solid track record of giving their audience members -- many of whom are young female Irish dancers -- what they want. They guys have been so well received, in fact, that Klingenberg was named Irish Dancing Magazine's Man of the Year for 2012 -- a title annually bestowed upon one young man in the Irish dance world.

"It went right to his head," Plummer joked.

"It’s been pretty tough being this ridiculously good looking," Klingenberg retorted, laughing.

For more information about what's in store for TapTronic, visit the official TapTronic Facebook page.

'Heartbeat of Home' online auditions prompt influx of amazing dancer videos - VIDEOS

Mollie McCabe, of Buffalo, N.Y., Irish step dances along the shores
of Lake Erie in her "Heartbeat of Home" audition video.

Open auditions for "Heartbeat of Home" -- the dance fusion show produced by the creators of "Riverdance" -- began Monday, and the competition is as fierce as it is diverse.

Judges responsible for casting the new show will be watching video auditions uploaded to YouTube by dancers of various genres, including Irish, flamenco, Latin and street dancing. So far, Irish dancer videos outweigh dancers of other forms in the competition.



The quality of Irish dance applicants is unreal. Many of those auditioning are regional, national and even world champions.

Irish dancers of the competitive circuit will recognize a few names and faces, including former CLRG world champions Ashley Smith and Olivia Griffin, and current senior men's world title holder Tyler Schwartz, just to name a few of the step dancing big-timers competing for a spot on the "Heartbeat" stage.



Professional show dancer Owen Jones' video channels a bit of Irish dance nostalgia with footage of him dancing at a child, followed by a recent video clip of him dancing on a show stage. Tom Brosnan and Erin Trevena of "Brosena," the dancing duo that made it to the semi-final round of Sky1's "Got to Dance," both threw their hats into the "Heartbeat" ring, too.



Then, there are the dancing dark horses -- those who don't hold any fancy titles or have professional shows listed on their resumes but clearly possess talent, showmanship and energy worthy of the "Heartbeat" judges' attention.

Korean-born Mollie McCabe shot her a capella video in freezing temperatures in Buffalo, N.Y., yet her beats are both precise and audibly crisp regardless of the undeniably harsh dancing conditions.



Lisa Murphy, of Brooklyn, also stands out from the crowd. Her video takes an unexpected twist when she transitions from trebles to music video moves.

Audition videos continue to pop up on the official "Heartbeat" talent search website. According to judge Padraic Moyles, the top 10 videos at the end of the online audition cycle (later this month) will be invited to try out for the show in person. Those not ranked in the top according to viewer votes still have a chance though. The judges, Moyles said, will identify dancers possessing appealing show qualities and invite them to formally audition as well.