The American Tap Dance Foundation Sets Spring, Summer 2016 Season

The American Tap Dance Foundation (ATDF), Tony Waag, Artistic/Executive Director, announced today its 2016 spring and summer season of tap dance events and performances, offering audiences an opportunity to experience top tap dance talent in a variety of performance settings and explore tap dance history in Tap's hometown, New York City.

The ATDF season is a tap lovers dream - tappers young and old, professional and student, coming together in performance and celebration of this uniquely American art form. In July, the American Tap Dance Foundation will celebrate 30 years since its founding by tap master Charles "Honi" Coles, his protégée Brenda Bufalino, and the Foundation's current artistic and executive director, Tony Waag.

Included in the American Tap Dance Foundation's spring and summer season are "Rhythm in Motion," ATDF's yearly tap dance concerts at the Theater at the 14th Street Y (April 13 - 17), a showcase for new choreography and forward-thinking contemporary tap dance. "Tap Attack," an outdoor celebration in honor of National Tap Dance Day (May 25) will be presented this year at Brooklyn's Evergreens Cemetery on Sunday, May 22, burial place of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and other tap dance legends.

"Tap City," ATDF's annual New York City Tap Festival (July 9-16), will kick off with the ATDF Tap Dance Awards and include a week long series of master classes and performance events by local and international artists. "Tap Treasures," three new tours of tap dance landmarks uptown, midtown and downtown Manhattan, will begin on July 11 at the legendary Apollo Theater. The tour will add new, historical dimension to the Tap City Festival week.

The ATDF Spring/Summer season will celebrate the organization's ongoing commitment to establish and legitimize tap dance as a vital component of American dance through creation, presentation, education and preservation. ATDF is in a unique position as both a promoter of the new and preserver of the living history of tap dance.

Following is a complete roster of American Tap Dance Foundation events and performances, through July 2016:

April 13-17 - The American Tap Dance Foundation's "Rhythm in Motion" - spring concerts at Theater at the 14th Street Y - new choreography and forward-thinking contemporary tap dance by the city's top tappers. Video
Tickets

April 12 - ATDF Spring Fundraiser at 14Y, which raises funds for The Gregory Hines Youth Scholarship Fund featuring a host of tap dance masters, luminaries, teachers and students. The American Tap Dance Foundation (ATDF) is a non-profit organization committed to establishing and legitimizing Tap Dance as a vital component of American Dance through creation, presentation, education and preservation. Tickets: 646-230-9564

May 22 - "Tap Attack" in celebration of National Tap Dance Day at Evergreens Cemetery in Brooklyn, burial place of the legendary Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Tap Attack is a free, public, outdoor event with open jam sessions with ATDF students (children, teens and adults), the Tap City Youth Ensemble and special appearances by top tappers to enhance the festivities. Tap Attack will mark the 27th anniversary of National Tap Dance Day (May 25), a yearly celebration of tap dance as an American art form and national treasure. Evergreens Cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places - 1629 Bushwick Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11207 Noon-2pm. Free.

July 9-16 - "Tap City 2016," the annual New York City Tap Festival - the week-long festival will include awards, master classes and performances by local and international artists, including 300 tappers in an outdoor tap dance event in the middle of Foley Square, the "Five Points" district where the art of tap dance began.

July 11 - Copasetic Boat Ride - 6:30-9:30pm - Circle Line Marina, Pier 83 - Opening social event and cruise around Manhattan with live band, performances and jam.

July 11, July 12 and July 13 - "Tap Treasures," three new, citywide tours of tap-dance landmarks. From legendary theaters to rehearsal spaces, pivotal moments in tap dance history will be explored in three tap dance tours, uptown on July 11, in midtown on July 12 and in lower Manhattan on July 13. The uptown tour will begin at the legendary Apollo Theater, followed by a visit to the "The New 42nd Street" on July 12 with a discussion of the restoration of seven historic theaters where numerous tap dance luminaries started their careers like Fred and Adele Astaire, Bill Robinson, Ray Bolger and Ruby Keeler. The tour will conclude on July 13 with downtown visits to the former Woodpeckers Tap Dance Center and ATDF's current home the American Tap Dance Center.

July 12 - Tap Dance Awards - 9pm - The Duke on 42nd Street - Film presentations and performances will honor recipients of this year's Hoofer and Tap Preservation awards and inductees into the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame.

July 14 - "Tap Treasures" Show - 7pm and 9:30pm - The Duke on 42nd Street - Tap City's latest premiere mashup concert with new work created by a global community of the brightest and boldest soloists, contemporary ensembles, emerging raw talent and leading tap masters.

July 15 - "Tap it Out" - 6pm and 6:30pm - "The Five Points District" - Foley Square, 111 Worth St. "Tap it Out" is an all-student outdoor event where worldwide students of all ages and levels will create a chorus of hundreds of tapping feet. The contemporary percussion and movement "soundscape" promotes tap dance as pure music, while consciously deconstructing the basic elements that propel tap forward. Video

July 16 - "Tap Future" - 3 and 5pm - The Duke on 42nd Street - Tap City puts ALL of the students on stage in an informal performance featuring the newly minted work from all of the Tap City Residencies from the Youth, Pre-Professional and Adult Training Programs.