Perspiration dampens his shirt, and leaves his forehead shining in the light, dripping down from his eyebrow from which hangs a silvery sliver of surgical steel.

Allan, 24, who hails from Vancouver in Canada, has toured North America since he was 16 with the Tap Dogs show. Based in Las Vegas, he is currently in Beijing as a lead dancer in the Iron Beats troupe which winds up a brief run this Friday.

Along with 24 other entertainers, Allan struts his stuff in a dazzlingly original piecte which is produced by Wally Eastwood and directed by Enrigue Lugo.

Some members of the Chinese media have branded the well-packaged show "low art," catering to satisfy the vulgar populace.

Dancer/director Lugo takes issue with what he regards as a slur, arguing: "We regard dancing as art, and have the passion from our heart to do it.We get excitement from our dancing, feel great and we love it."

Lugo, a handsome Mexican with Mayan, Aztec Indian and Spanish ancestry, performs as an elegant bullfighter on stage at one point in the show, charming the audience with his grace.

Producer Wally Eastwood agrees with Lugo's assessment: "We look more at the production value of the show.We feel excited to bring our form of Las Vegas art to China, at the same time we have to be good, because you aren't going to fool anybody here, as we have seen many top Chinese performers abroad."

The juggler, who has performed since he was seven, has been performing in Las Vegas since 1987. He believes there is "no such thing as a traditional Las Vegas show any more."

"Las Vegas art is everything. There is so much entertainment in it. There is not one type of performance you cannot find there," Eastwood said.

Eastwood describes his Iron Beats show as "unpredictable," adding: "You never know what we will do next; we do lots of changes. One second it is Irish dancing, seconds later it is nowhere, and the beats change and are replaced by others."

The show aims to be a salad bowl with highlights of shows they have done before, including Irish dance and shows called Stomp and Tap Dogs.

"It contains lots of dances - flamenco, Irish tapping, New Age taps, salsa, street dance and Latin rhythms like tango amongst others," said Eastwood.

The show features some mesmerizing content, including acrobatics, stunts, pop, rock and roll, and rap tunes plus the unique Gaucho Boleodora performance from Argentina.

Gaucho masters Hilario Cabral and Marcos Atilio Fuks, steal the limelight during the show with their stunning performance of boleodora stunts.

The two Argentinian cowboy martial art tappers, waved boleodora - long strings with marble balls on one end - into fast-moving wheels around their bodies.

As the balls spun around them, their long hair flew, their feet jumped nimbly and their legs kicked out. The balls would hit the floor with rhythmical beats contributing to the tap of Allan and his co-dancers.

Mario Ferreira goes one better by juggling chainsaws!

The giant props of iron and steel represented the capitalistic world of developed countries. The dancers wore simple costumes such as jeans, shirts and boots, yet their performance thrilled the audience.

"We give out energy with our dancing, and as a feedback, the audience returns their energy to us - that is the best we want to get from the audience," Allan, the sweaty tapper, said.

A tap-dancing lover since he was five, Allan worked his way up to be a lead dancer by sacrificing lots of his free time to study in dance classes.

Even now, he has to practice eight hours a day when in a show.

"I've never known a life without dancing," Allan said. "I will never stop dancing everywhere, everyday. Performing on stage itself is what I love."

Allan said that all he wants to see are the smiles on the faces of the audience.

"While performing on stage, I tend to look at the audience and see their reaction. Their smiles are the best for me," Allan said.

"I love to entertain people."

* The last Beijing show is on Friday evening at Beizhan Theatre (6835-4455).