Creative Team

Dein Perry - Creator, Director & Choreographer

Dein Perry has been working in the entertainment industry for over three decades. Dein revolutionised tap dancing around the world when he created the genuine show business phenomenon TAP DOGS, a contemporary show built around the themes of Dein’s industrial experience growing up in Newcastle.

For 10 years Dein worked in musical theatre that eventually led to Dein’s big break where he was cast in a principal role in 42nd STREET. In 1991 Dein was awarded an Australia Council Development Grant and formed the Tap Brothers, a very early incarnation of TAP DOGS. From this Dein was offered the chance to co-choreograph and star in the West End musical, HOT SHOE SHUFFLE. The Tap Brothers became the stars of HOT SHOE SHUFFLE. This production earned Dein his first Olivier Award in 1995. During this time Dein was invited to produce a dynamic film clip for the ABC arts programme PERFORMANCE SPACE, the clip is known as TAP DOGS.

In 1994 Dein conceived and choreographed the full stage show TAP DOGS, which was the hit of the 1995 Sydney Festival and caused an equal sensation at the Edinburgh Festival later that year, winning the Glasgow Herald Angel Award. Dein Perry was awarded his second Olivier Award back to back - the youngest person ever to do so. Dein Perry’s TAP DOGS has since performed in 330 cities, 37 countries and dazzled audiences in excess of 11 million. 2011 has the show celebrating its sixteenth year of touring.

TAP DOGS has received over 11 international awards, including a 1997 NY Obie Award, the Pegasus Award from the Spoleto festival, the Australian Variety Award for Entertainer of the Year, and the Mo Award for Showbusiness Ambassador of 1998.

Dein’s Performance Awards include the 1996, 1997 and 1998 Mo Award for Dance Performer of the Year and the Australian Green Room nomination for Best Supporting Role in HOT SHOE SHUFFLE. Dein received two Australian Green Room Awards for Best Original Choreography, for HOT SHOE SHUFFLE (1995) and TAP DOGS (1996). He was also nominated for a NY Drama Desk Award for Best Choreography for TAP DOGS (1997). In 1998 Dein received an Australian Dance Award for best Choreography and in 2005 was awarded Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer.

January 1998 saw the world premiere of DEIN PERRY’S STEEL CITY, at Star City, Sydney Casino. STEEL CITY was conceived, directed, choreographed and performed by Dein, with music by Tim Finn, a cast of thirteen and four musicians. The show toured Australia during 1998 before playing a special season at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

Dein Executive Produced, Directed and Choreographed the feature film, BOOTMEN, financed by the Australian Film Finance Corporation and Fox Searchlight and distributed by Twentieth Century Fox. BOOTMEN had its worldwide release in October 2000 and received 5 AFI awards.

Dein choreographed the huge tap sequence ETERNITY, consisting of 1300 dancers at the celebrated SYDNEY 2000 OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONY, which was screened worldwide.

TAP DOGS enjoyed uninterrupted touring across the globe with troupes simultaneously performing in the United States and across Europe. In 2005 TAP DOGS celebrated their 10th anniversary with Dein Perry returning to the stage delivering a sell out national tour of Australia and an Australian Dance Award for most Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer. Dein Perry’s TAP DOGS remains Australia’s greatest stage export.

In 2006 Dein directed DAVID CAMPBELL - WILD WITH STYLE, produced by New Theatricals. WILD WITH STYLE enjoyed a sell out season at the Sydney Opera House. In the same year, Dein produced the Darling Harbour WINTER CONCERT Series for the Sydney Harbour Foreshore.

The commencement of 2007 saw Dein Perry appointed as the Game Day and Producer for the SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS Leagues Club. Dein introduced and created the RABBITOHS DRUM SQUAD. To date Dein has produced over 60 games for the club.

Dein Perry was invited to join forces with HUMAN NATURE as the group’s Director for their 2007 National Motown Arena Spectacular Tour. In the same year, Dein was a Creative Producer for the AUSTRALIA DAY Darling Harbour Spectacular.

In conjunction with Cambridge Events, Dein was Creative Director for the 2008 NRL GRAND FINAL entertainment and the 2010 NRL DALLY M AWARDS. Also in 2008, Dein Produced, Directed and Choreographed the entertainment at the opening match of the NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE CENTENARY at ANZ Stadium with 1000 performers.

In 2009 Dein was a Creative Director for the Darling Harbour AUSTRALIA DAY FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR and worked on the 2018 WORLD CUP SOCCER BID CAMPAIGN. Dein directed and choreographed dance routines involving hundreds of dancers for the 2009 WORLD MASTERS GAMES OPENING and was Choreographer and Creator of the pre grid entertainment for the V8 SUPERCAR Event. In addition, Dein was Director on the new and exciting dance show, THE NEXT STEP which involved a fusion of different dance styles.

To ensure the unique TAP DOGS style continues, Dein Perry established a new breed of young dancers known as the TAP PUPS. Dein administers Tap Schools for children in Sydney and Newcastle. There are over 200 Tap Pups enrolled and many have performed alongside TAP DOGS at national events

2010 and 2011 had Dein Perry working fulltime as Choreographer on the Warner Bros animated motion picture, HAPPY FEET 2, Directed by George Miller.

2011/2012 Dein was appointed Game Day Producer for the BBL T20 Sydney Thunder Cricket Team under the banner for Cricket Australia. During this period Dein was also creative director for a number of FORD Car launches in Australia and Beijing.

Dein was appointed the Performance Director of the prestigious New Year’s Eve Lord Mayor’s Party at the Sydney Opera House Forecourt in 2011 and continues to hold this position in 2013.
The commencement of 2013 has Dein overseeing two TAP DOGS Companies now in their 18th year of uninterrupted touring, he’s also celebrating his seventh year as Game Day Producer for the Mighty Rabbitohs, continues to share the art of TAP to his ever expanding Tap Pups school as well as creating and recreating new choreography for the award winning Musical HOT SHOE SHUFFLE.

Nigel Triffitt - Director & Designer

R.I.P. 19.8.1949 - 20.7.2012

Nigel Triffitt is acknowledged as a leader in the field of visual theatre in Australia and internationally with shows that have successfully toured to over 20 countries, displaying a unique renegade talent. As a designer, devisor and director of his own shows, Nigel has an impressive track record over a career spanning 30 years. Arguably Nigel’s most successful project is Tap Dogs, which he designed and directed. Tap Dogs has become one of Australia’s greatest exports - having toured in over 250 cities worldwide.

Nigel’s talent has led him on to other art territories from grand opera to rock’n’roll; from film to huge outdoor spectacles; to puppetry and dance, all of which have combined to create his unique fusion of art forms.

His most recent productions have been the phenomenally successful revival of Hair and The New Rocky Horror Show, which toured Australia for eight years, and Gumboots. Nigel directed and designed the finale of the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympics, which screened to an international television audience of an estimated 3.5 billion viewers.

Andrew Wilkie - Composer

Andrew obtained a Bachelor of Music degree from Queensland Conservatorium of Music, later studying jazz at the New South Wales
Conservatorium of Music. His involvement with musical theatre began in 1992 when he was Principal Percussionist for the Sydney productions of Hot Shoe Shuffle, Porgy and Bess, Me and My Girl, Nine, HMS Pinafore and I Do! I Do!

His theatre credits also include West Side Story, The Phantom of the Opera, A Chorus Line, Les Misérables, 42nd Street and Into the Woods. Andrew has also worked as Principal Percussionist with the Queensland Youth Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, the Australia Ensemble Sydney, the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra and the Sydney International Orchestra.

He has regularly played with The Midday Show’s Big Band, The Catholics, The Umbrellas and, for the last two years, Andrew has been Musical Director for Australian flautist Jane Rutter. He has also worked with James Morrison, Monica & the Moochers, Mike Bukovsky, the Kays Jazz Orchestra, Martin Lass and was a band member in the Posh & Judy Ballet Sextet.

Gavin Norris - Lighting Designer

Gavin Norris’s lighting design credits include: Hot Shoe Shuffle (UK tour), Tap Dogs (worldwide), Kat and the Kings (UK tour, Frankfurt, Vienna, European tour, London season), Circus Days, Circus Nights (Channel 4), Jack and the Beanstalk (Richmond Theatre), Gumboots (worldwide), The Darkness arena tours (associate lighting designer), Mum’s the Word (West End), Diana Ross (Sydney), Human Nature arena tour (lighting, video and set design), Australia Day Celebrations, (Sydney, Darling Harbour), Le Grand Cirque (Sydney Opera House, set and design consultant) and Junglehammer (Sydney Opera House).

Gavin currently works at the Sydney Opera House as a production manager. He also continues to work within the music and television industry as a lighting designer and lighting programmer. Gavin has recently started working as production designer and consultant for local Sydney band Junglehammer who have just released their new album Romeo Tree.

Andy Jackson - Sound Designer

Over the past twenty years, Andy has worked in a variety of audio environments as an audio designer, engineer, and consultant, primarily working in theatre, music and the corporate market.

Andy’s West End & Broadway theatre shows have included the sound designs Tap Dogs, Inner City jam, Gumboots and Dancing on dangerous Ground.

Early music events included ‘Mercury Music Prize, (1990 – 2002), concerts with artists such as Van Morrison, Suede, Primal Scream, as well as numerous festivals including the Brighton Beach Boutique where ‘Fat Boy Slim’ played in front of 250,000 people.

In 2007, Andy set up Delta Sound in Dubai, and has grown the company into the largest specialist audio company in the Middle East; artists have included Elton John, Sting, Aerosmith, Beyonce, Kings of Leon, Coldplay, Iron Maiden & Queen.
Orchestral work has played a significant role, working with the London Philharonic, London Symposium, Armenian Philharmonic & the recently formed Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra with soloist including Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Jose Carrerus, Hiba Kawaz, to name a few

DVD recording have included, Tap Dogs, Gumboots, Pop Idol, and the Inauguration concert for the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra.

Recent events and launches have included, the Atlantis Hotel launch, The Burj Khalifa Tower (tallest building in the world), Meydan Racecourse opening, all these events attracting worldwide media coverage.

Andy has been married for 14 years to Lorraine and has a teenage son called Tod.

Joe Giuseppe Accaria - Musical Director

Joe Giuseppe Accaria graduated in 1993 from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with an honours degree in Music and Education majoring in contemporary and orchestral percussion. Since then Joe has performed and recorded extensively throughout Australia, Europe, Asia, Africa, Central America and the USA.

Artists include: Andrea Bocelli, Cyndi Lauper, Smokey Robinson, Mary Wilson (The Supremes), Ronn Moss, Big Brovas, Tap Dogs, Human Nature, David Campbell, Gabriella Cilmi, Kaz James, Wendy Matthews, Tina Arena, Yothu Yindi, Tim Finn, Paulini, Guy Sebastian, Shanley Del, Billy Thorpe, Jimmy Barnes, Ian Moss, Colin Hay, Doug Parkinson, Jimmy Little, iOTA, Rick Price, Alex Lloyd, The McClymonts, Sister Madly, Im Ji Hoon (Korea), Dave Mason (The Reels), Andrew Farriss (INXS), Floyd Vincent and the Childbrides, Jackie Orszaczky, Wanderlust, Jay O'Shea, Karma County, Jeff Lang, Tim Hall, Jack Jones, Colin Buchanan, Abbey Dobson, Jackie Bristow, Christine Anu, Jessica Mauboy, Grace Knight, James Morrison, Jimmy Somerville, Tammin Sursok, Sister2Sister, The Rat Pack, Paul McDermott, Paul Capsis, Tripod, Dog Trumpet, The Sandman, Chris Franklin, The Fabulous Rhythm Boys, Skunkhour, Junglehammer, Bruce, She Is The King, Sandel, Lyall Adonis, Michala Banas, Freyja, Chakradiva, Darlene Zschech, Paul Turner as well as his own musical projects The Strange, Cactus Child and FSOA.

In 1997-2001 Joe featured in Dein Perry’s Steel City, with music by Tim Finn toured Australia and culminated in performances at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. Joe was also involved in performing and composing for Dein’s contribution to the Sydney 2000 Olympics Opening Ceremony, Bledisloe Cup, Tri Nations and Lions Tour Rugby Events.

In 2005-2006 Joe performed in Dein Perry’s Tap Dogs 10th Anniversary World Tour in Australia, Europe, Africa, Asia and the USA as Musical Director.

Joe has appeared on numerous TV shows, presentations and movie soundtracks. More recently Thunderstruck, The Black Balloon, The Godfather Symphony Live working with prominent producers, composers and orchestrators such as Mark Opitz, Michael Yeserski and Ashley Irwin and more recently under Marcello Rota on tour with Andrea Bocelli.

In 2002 Joe travelled to Cuba studying with some of Cuba’s finest percussionists and musicians including members of the Afro-Cuban All Stars and will begin a Masters Degree in the near future at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Joe is again collaborating with Dein Perry composing and performing for Tap Dogs performances at Australia Day and World Youth Day events as well as the 2008 NRL Grand Final.

Joe is currently Musical Director for Human Nature and David Campbell appearing on their current albums. 2009 saw Joe in Las Vegas with Human Nature in a show presented by Smokey Robinson. 2010 sees Joe performing the Sydney Festival’s Smoke & Mirrors in Sydney & Edinburgh, The Sydney Theatre Company’s Spring Awakening, David Campbell’s Tour with Tom Jones, coordinating the music for Tap Dogs’ return to the West End in London and composing for the Opening of the FIFA World Cup live sites.

Darryl Lewis - Original Sound Designer

Darryl started work in the field of audio back in 1982, working with bands and artists throughout Brisbane, in 1988 Darryl began working with Delicado Productions as a sound engineer on their stage show Galaxies and continued onto Hollywood Legends at Conrad Jupiters. In 1991 Darryl started working directly with Conrad Jupiters on Live from the Roosevelt, Harlem Rhythms, Jewel of the Orient, and Tropical Nights. 

In 1995 Darryl left the Gold Coast and moved to Sydney, four weeks later he started working with Dein Perry on Tap Dogs and soon was asked to design the audio for their first London appearance.

As the sound designer for Tap Dogs, Darryl helped to set up 5 companies of Tap Dogs around the world.

After touring with Tap Dogs for almost five years, his highlights included, working in Saddlers Wells Theatre and the Lyric Theatre in London, Union Square Theatre in New York and MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and more than 80 theatres throughout the USA, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and Europe.

In 1998 Darryl designed the audio for Dein Perry’s Steel City, which commenced at Star City in Sydney and continued with a tour around Australia and the USA, Darryl’s highlight was to design and work at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Returning to Australia in late 1999, Darryl returned to Jupiters Hotel & Casino as Head of Audio and started work on all productions from stage shows to concerts in Jupiters Theatre. In July 2009 Darryl was promoted to Technical Manager and Darryl was promoted to Resident Production Manager in January 2010 where he is now responsible for all aspects of production from audio, lighting, staging, props, and wardrobe for Jupiters Hotel and Casino.

Since 2010 as Resident Production Manager, Darryl has had the pleasure to work with international artists such as Seal, Michael Bolton, Tony Bennett, Burt Bacharach, Flo Rida, Salt N Pepa, Vanilla Ice, Rod Stewart, and Kings of Leon, and stage shows such as, Burn the Floor, Stomp, and Jabbawockeez.

Laurence Maddy - Music Production, Engineering & Additional Orchestration

Laurence Maddy has been actively involved in the music industry since the early eighties. In live performance Laurence has toured with many contemporary Australian acts and has many national Australian and European tours to his credit.

Laurence’s dominant area of expertise is Record Production/Engineering and he has produced/engineered over 80 independent and mainstream releases including such acts as PEZ, Seth Sentry, T.I.S.M. Deborah Conway, Hunters and Collectors and many more. He has also composed and produced work in film and television and received an AFI award (best achievement in sound) for his work on Bootmen.

A career highlight was Laurence’s involvement as Music co-ordinator/Producer for the final segment of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Opening Ceremony.

He is delighted to have the opportunity to work with Dein Perry again, as their association goes back to 1998 where he was Musical Director for Dein Perry’s Steel City that toured Australia, before a season at Radio City Music Hall in New York.