I just received my annual mailing from the Southeastern Tap Explosion announcing the dates of the Atlanta-based tap workshop as well as which instructors will be in attendance.
This year’s line up features legendary instructors Barbara Duffy & Germaine Salsberg, both of whom I have taken classes with in the past. These two can teach you just as much about how to teach tap dancing as they can about tap itself. Germain Salsberg has a great tap instructional video available on Amazon called “Simply Tap Dance For Absolute Beginners”
The lineup also features dancers I have not had the pleasure of studying with before: DeWitt Fleming Jr., Andrew Nemr, & Skip Cunningham.
If you have had the opportunity to study with any of these gentlemen please post a comment below this post, sharing your experience. Any specific strengths or weaknesses you could share would other students of tap (including me) decide who to take classes from.
When I attend a class, it is much more important for me to pick up a new concept or piece of tap history that I can apply, than to learn a cool new combination. What’s your preference?
Are there any tap dance instructors that you would like to recognize publicly? Tell about them in the comments section too.
You might just motivate a fellow tap dancer to take a great class they might otherwise have missed!
May 9th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Taps,
Since you asked.. Taylor (age 7) really enjoyed taking classes with you when we were in Atlanta. Her friend Emily (age
also really enjoys your classes. Now Taylor (and I) really appreciates your online instructional website, etapdance. Taylor has become interested in improv, taking tap instruction with you. She has also learned a lot about rhythmn and timing from you and your video instruction. If we were in Atlanta, Taylor would be taking as many classes as possible from you.
Kassie Kilpatrick Brown of NYC (former instructor at Showbiz Kids in Hiram) is a terrific choreographer and instructor. She is really good with little kids (teenagers and adults also). When she was at Showbiz which is a competitive dance studio, she racked up the awards every time her team went to competition. The kids always did well and Kassie always won choreography awards. She currently is with Jared Grimes company at Broadway Underground in NYC. I plan on taking Taylor to see Kassie to do a couple private lessons this summer. Taylor loves to work with Kassie because Kassie does really hip hop /funky stuff.
Shirley Smith the owner of Showbiz Kids in Hiram (also known as Cobb Community Dance Theater) got my daughter dancing and on stage at age four. She can teach a child as young as three years old to do technical tap. Shirley who has been in business for over 30 years is known for her creative use of props and her cute choreography for little ones. She gets 100% credit for teaching my daughter stage presence. All of her her little dancers love her and excel in tap (and all performing arts). Shirley always has the best instructors in the business working with her including; Stephanie Hopkins and Whitney Hanes. I have also heard very good things about the new tap instructor Heather.
I can not say enough about Taylor’s current studio “Knock On Wood” home of Tapper’s with Attitude in Silver Spring, Maryland. Both you (Taps) and Kassie recommended them to me. Taylor has taken lessons from Michael Woodson, Baakari Wilder and even the Director (Yvonne Edwards). Most of the tap world already knows about them. They are so technically solid. Every instructor there is top notch. They are so modest and nice. They have so many workshops with big time tappers. A lot of big name tappers have taken lessons or have instructed there. Taylor can’t wait to audition for “Tappers With Attitude”. They are so great… You have mentioned them on your site previously several times.
Thanks,
Johnna
May 14th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Skip Cunningham is coming?! Awesome! I know him very informally because he’s a regular tap dance instructor at Herrang Swing Dance Camp in Sweden (www.herrang.com). I think it’s so awesome that he has that connection to the history of partner jazz dance coming out of Harlem at the same time as so many of the tap dance greats. You should definitely take a class with him, Terrence!