Bril Barrett and Martin “Tré” Dumas III founded M.A.D.D. Rhythms together in 2001, then spent nearly two decades performing apart after Dumas stepped away from the Bronzeville tap company in 2007 over a disagreement about how to run it. This October, as the group marks its 25th anniversary, the two will share a stage as equals for the first time in nearly 20 years, each premiering a deeply personal solo work in a double bill at the Chicago Tap Summit.
The reunion is detailed in a profile by Chicago Tribune writer Lauren Warnecke, who reports that Barrett and Dumas toured together with Riverdance in 2001 before founding M.A.D.D. Rhythms, the Bronzeville-based tap academy and professional troupe that has since become one of the city's most recognized cultural institutions. Barrett, now 51, told the paper that professional Black tap dancers in Chicago were once few enough to count on one hand and have fingers left over — a scarcity that shaped the urgency behind the company he and Dumas built. After their falling-out, the two remained distant for about five years before reconciling, with Barrett saying he and Dumas “grew up and reconnected through conversations they had never had,” per the same account.
Two Personal Dream Shows, One Stage
Barrett, a professional Black tap dancer and choreographer, will perform Oscar Plays Gershwin, a piece revisiting jazz pianist Oscar Peterson's interpretations of George Gershwin's catalog. According to the Tribune's report, Barrett's piece draws on Peterson's full 1959 album interpreting Gershwin's songbook, including Summertime — a recording made for Verve Records that Dance Informa USA notes uses dancers' tap shoes as percussive instrumentation layered atop Peterson's recordings.
Dumas, 56, will premiere My Personal Stash, which he has described as a love letter to his father, his father's bandmates, and the music he grew up with, according to the Tribune. Dumas's late father, Martin Dumas Jr., formed the Chicago funk-soul band Rasputin Stash in the early 1970s; the elder Dumas served as lead guitarist, vocalist, and co-founder of the group, which was signed to Atlantic Records' Cotillion imprint, according to BadCatRecords. The Tribune reports that My Personal Stash takes its cues directly from that legacy — the music of a father who worked as a session musician and helped shape a distinct corner of Chicago's funk and soul sound.
Building a Pipeline From Toddlers to Professionals
Barrett and Dumas didn't just found a performance troupe; the Tribune reports they created a pipeline meant to propel children toward professional dance careers. That mission has since expanded into youth programming and a youth employment program for ages 14 to 24 at the Harold Washington Cultural Center, according to South Side Weekly.
That structure reflects Barrett's broader philosophy of tap as an intervention tool, embedding lessons on Black tap history into every class taught at the center. The National Endowment for the Arts notes that M.A.D.D. Rhythms teaches students how enslaved West Africans developed body percussion and “ring shouts” as forms of communication and resistance after slaveholders banned traditional drums — history Barrett folds into the company's curriculum to honor early Black tap pioneers. The NEA named Barrett a 2024 National Heritage Fellow, the nation's highest honor in folk and traditional arts, and he was inducted into Newcity's Players 50 Hall of Fame in 2026.
A Milestone Weekend in Bronzeville
The double bill anchors the 2026 Chicago Tap Summit, running October 2 through 4 at the Harold Washington Cultural Center with three days of master classes, panel discussions, a tap history bus tour, and world premiere performances, according to Dance Informa USA. Barrett and Dumas are scheduled to perform on October 3. The summit closes October 4 with the premiere screening of Beyond A Shuffle, a documentary exploring M.A.D.D. Rhythms' history and impact, produced in collaboration with the nonprofit Tap That Brass, according to Broadway World.
The Harold Washington Cultural Center itself carries its own layered history. The 1,000-seat facility stands at 47th Street and King Drive. M.A.D.D. Rhythms is based in Bronzeville, according to the Chicago Crusader. The City of Chicago has officially designated October 1 as M.A.D.D. Rhythms Day, honoring the company's contributions to youth mentorship and percussive dance education, per the Crusader.
