AND STILL YOU MUST SWING Brings Tap Superstars To The Joyce

The Joyce Theater Foundation (Linda Shelton, Executive Director) brings together three tap superstars and a special guest for a celebration of tap dance in And Still You Must Swing. Honoring the heart and legacy of the art form, the dynamic evening of dance featuring Dormeshia, Derick K. Grant, Jason Samuels Smith, and Camille A. Brown will play The Joyce Theater from December 3-8. Tickets, ranging in price from $10-$65, can be purchased at www.Joyce.org, or by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at West 19th Street. For more information, please visit www.Joyce.org.

Three of the most revered tap dancers in the world team up once again to celebrate the rich of history of this American art form in And Still You Must Swing this December at The Joyce. Featuring dynamic choreography and mesmerizing improvisation with live musical accompaniment, Dormeshia leads the evening alongside fellow tap superstars Derick K. Grant and Jason Samuels Smith. Joined by special guest Camille A. Brown, these four forces of dance trace the legacy of tap back through its contemporary roots in jazz and swing all the way to its origins as a form of resistance by African American slaves. Through a rhythmic feast of dance, And Still You Must Swing allows these visionary dance artists to shine while honoring the tradition of tap and the creators who laid the groundwork for their success long ago.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Dormeshia has been a part of almost every major tap movie or show since the 1980s. Accolades include an Astaire Award for Best Performance in After Midnight on Broadway; Bessie Awards for Outstanding Performance (Jason Samuels Smith at The Joyce Theater) and Outstanding Choreography (The Blues Project); The Hoofer Award; the Princess Grace Award; and the cover of Dance Magazine. In addition to opening the Harlem Tap Studio, Dormeshia continues to appear as a special guest in performances and festivals around the world. She was elected to the advisory board as Tap Advisor for Dance Magazine and served as the official Tap Spokesperson for Capezio, along with her family. She was also the private tap instructor to the legendary Michael Jackson over the course of 11 years. Dormeshia's career includes acclaimed runs on and off-Broadway in Black and Blue, the Tony Award-winning Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk, and Imagine Tap!, as well as national tours of Wild Woman Blue and Debbie Allen's SAMMY, and the Freedom Sounds Festival that launched the Smithsonian African-American Museum. Her film credits include TAP with Gregory Hines, Spike Lee's Bamboozled, and The Rodgers and Hart Story: Thou Swell, Thou Witty." Choreography credits include Michael Jackson's music video "Rock My World," Apollo Club Harlem, and the Sophisticated Ladies, which is featured weekly at the world-famous Cotton Club.

Derick K. Grant was an original company member and dance captain for Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk at The Public Theater, on Broadway, and on the first national tour. He created the critically-acclaimed show Imagine Tap! And was appointed the Co-Artistic Director of Chicago Human Rhythm Project's Rhythm World Summer Festival. Mr. Grant has received the Princess Grace Award for Upcoming Young Artist, The Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Featured Actor for his role in Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk, Los Angeles Ovation Awards for choreography and best ensemble performance, and Best Choreography for Imagine Tap! His additional choreography and performance credits include The Apollo Theatre's Get On the Good Foot local and national tour; The Kennedy Center's African Odyssey program; The Aaron Davis Hall Black History Month Celebration; The Queens Symphony Opera's Duke Ellington concert; Ann Arbor's Arts Festival; The Connecticut Ballet Company's celebration of Men in Dance; and as a special guest artist with The Jazz Tap Ensemble. Mr. Grant's own production of the history of tap, A Night Out: Tap!, toured the country. He continues to teach as a faculty member at Steps on Broadway and at venues worldwide in an effort to celebrate, nurture, and cultivate the art form of tap.

Jason Samuels Smith is an established leader for tap with accolades as choreographer, performer, and humanitarian. He has received an Emmy, Dance Magazine Award, and American Choreography Award, as well as grants and residencies supporting the development of new work. His choreography and film credits include Black Nativity; USA's hit series "Psych"; CBS's "Secret Talents of the Stars"; "So You Think You Can Dance"; "Dancing with the Stars"; Upaj: Improvise; Dean Hargrove's Tap World and Tap Heat; Outkast's Idlewild; and Debbie Allen's Cool Women. Stage credits include Soul Possessed; Broadway's Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk; and Imagine Tap! He continues to tour worldwide as a soloist and with his company and various projects. As a humanitarian, he continues to support organizations such as Dancers Responding to AIDS, Tied to Greatness, Career Transitions for Dancers, Tap Into a Cure, Groove with Me, and Move the World, among others. He also designed and developed a leading professional tap shoe sold exclusively by BLOCH. Jason aims to promote respect for tap dance and continues to create opportunities for upcoming generations as an ambassador for tap around the world.

Camille A. Brown is a prolific Black female choreographer reclaiming the cultural narrative of African American identity. Her bold work taps into both ancestral stories and contemporary culture to capture a range of deeply personal experiences. Ms. Brown is a four-time Princess Grace Award winner, a Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellow, Jacob's Pillow Dance Award winner, Guggenheim Fellowship recipient, and TED Fellow, among others. Her work has been commissioned by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Broadway theaters, and other prominent institutions. As Artistic Director of Camille A. Brown and Dancers, Ms. Brown strives to instill curiosity and reflection in diverse audiences through her emotionally raw and thought-provoking work. Her driving passion is to empower Black bodies to tell their story using their own language(s) through movement and dialogue. Through the company, Ms. Brown provides outreach activities to students, young adults, and incarcerated women and men across the country. Ms. Brown received Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Choreography for her work on Choir Boy, and served as cChoreographer for the Emmy Award-winning special, "Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert" Tony Award-winning revival of Once on This Island, for which she received Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, and Chita Rivera Award nominations. For her choreography on BELLA: An American Tall Tale, Ms. Brown received an AUDELCO award and Lucille Lortel nomination. Ms. Brown is a graduate of the LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts and received a B.F.A. from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.