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@dufftap

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Tap Dancer, Master Teacher, Choreographer, Author of Tap into Improv, A Guide to Tap Dance Improvisation.

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🎂 TAP DANCER BIRTHDAYS: October 8

Happy birthday to:

•••••

Barbara Duffy (@dufftap) - New York City 💜💜💜

Liz Whalen (@liz_whalen) - New York City 💜

Mr. Bruce Bradley (@bruce.bradley.39) - Flint, Michigan 🖤

Alexandrya Fryson (@_prettygirllexx._) - Chicago, Illinois 💕

Jayna Feldman (@jaynafeldy; @jaynasmusic) - Sacramento, California 🎵

@missamericaks 2023,
Courtney Wages (@courtney_wages) - Wichita, Kansas 👑

Oh Hwan Kwon (@ohhwan_tap______) - Seoul, South Korea 🇰🇷

Angelina D’Albero (@a_dalbero) - New York City 🍗🪨💙

Mr. Andrew Pirozzi (@afpirozzi) - New York City 🧷

Trinity Burton (@trinstarrrrr) - Dayton, Ohio ❤️

Gilles Guicheron (@tapaddict) - Paris, France 🇫🇷

Isabelle Pouyet - France 🇫🇷

Matt Guerrera (@matty_dancer) - Connecticut 🩵

Mrs. Pamela Irwin (@licensedmassageninja; @pamelairwinlmt) - Nashville, Tennessee 💜

Elise Horecka (@elisehorecka) - Nashville, Tennessee ☔️

Mr. Keaton Smith (@keaton_smith17) - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 🇨🇦

HBD!

#TapDancerBirthdays #OctoberTapDancers #tapdance #tapfam #tapfamily

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🎂 #TapClipOfTheDay:

Former President Bill Clinton loved tap dance, and he would invite tap dancers to perform wherever and whenever he could.

We’ve all seen clips of dancers like Jimmy Slyde, Bunny Briggs, and Savion Glover, just to name a few performing at the White House. You may have seen this one, too; this is of Gregory Hines and his crew performing “Boom” at the invitation of President and Mrs. Clinton at the President’s Gala back in 1996. This is the #ThursdayTapThrowback clip for this week. ☺️

Among that crew was a woman named Barbara Duffy (@dufftap). You may have heard of her. She’s one of my absolute favorite tap dancers; a fierce, heavy hitter who will captivate you, inspire you, and thrill you. If you’re her student, or are learning from her in any way, she will challenge you, make you work hard, and turn you into a better version of yourself.

I’m happy to say that I met and learned from her when we held the first ever @thenashvillerhythmtapfestival three years ago. She has become a great friend and mentor to me, even from 800 miles away, and I couldn’t ask for anyone better.

Happy birthday, Barbara! I hope to see you back in Nashville hopefully sooner than later. 💜

#HappyBirthdayBarbaraDuffy #BarbaraDuffy #tapdance

Repost from @tapdancearchiveproductions
What a moment for tap dance! Former President Bill Clinton loved tap dance and would invite tap dancers to perform where ever he could, at Galas like this, even the White House! Here we have @dufftap with Gregory Hines, Cyd Glover Hill, and Mark Mendonca at the presidents gala in 1996. This piece was beautifully recreated earlier this year with @mashdeez @ayolives and @michelataps at Gregory Hines’s stamp ceremony. Check out the full clip on our YouTube channel

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Wishing @dufftap a Very Happy Birthday🎉 #tapdancer #hoofer #bday

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Help us in wishing our dear friend @dufftap a Happy Birthday today! Here, in 1996, dancing the Gregory Hines masterpiece “Boom”! #tapdance

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Happy Monday. I’ve been wondering about how tap dancers practice independently, and what they use to improve their skills each day. So I decided to bring my questions about this to you in this week’s #MondayDiscussion.

You see, every tap dancer has something — a warmup, a complex rudiment, or just a random set of steps — that they use to practice. We often use these to work on our technique, articulation, precision, musicality, phrasing, speed, etc.

My question: what do YOU use? Describe and/or break down your rudiments, steps, or warmups, in the comments section below, so that it’ll give everyone a tool they can use to improve their skills! I’d really like for us to bounce some ideas off of each other.

#TapPractice #taprudiments #tapdance #tapcommunity

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🎂 Happy Friday. Boston tap dance master Jimmy Slyde was supposed to have been the subject of the #ThursdayTapThrowback feature last night. But… I decided to wait until this morning to share.

Today would have been Jimmy’s 99th birthday; he was born on this day in 1927 in Atlanta, Georgia. Let’s start the day with a salute to the King of Slides. He wasn’t the first to master the slide move, but it definitely became his trademark. 🎩

#HappyBirthdayJimmySlyde #JimmySlyde #tapmaster

Repost from @operationtap Acknowledging the birthday of a master, Jimmy Slyde! October 2nd, 1927! #tapdance

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#TapClipOfTheDay:

This #SundayTapImprov feature comes from my friend Izzi Schneider (@izzitaps) out in Arizona. 💜

In this clip from 25 days ago, Izzi is working some things out in the studio, and trying to sharpen her improvisational skills. Watching this video and thinking about my own struggles with improvisation, I decided to make this a help-session of sorts, not just for Izzi, but for anyone who needs it.

So let’s do this: In the comments section below, please offer any advice you have to help Izzi with her improv. Whatever tips or tidbits you have might also help someone else!

#TapImprov #tapfriends #tapdance

Repost from @izzitaps
working with moving in between swinging & straight rhythm in improv today ◡̈ i’d really like to improve my improvisational skills, so comment your favorite improv tip or hack that you’ve learned!

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#TapClipOfTheDay:

One of these days, I’m going to learn to stay in the frickin’ pocket. I promise. 🫠

This is one of those *very* rare occasions in which I feature myself. As I’ve said before, I try to avoid doing that because compared to other more experienced tap dancers, I don’t think I’m anything special. Furthermore, I don’t want to make any of this all about me; this art form has been around long before me, and will be around long after I’m gone.

For the past three months, the @emandmecafe on 3rd Avenue North in Downtown Nashville has hosted Jazz Night. Various local musicians typically get together and jam on Tuesday nights every other week. I was there for the very first, and I told Daniel, the house band’s drummer, that I was a tap dancer and was going to jam with them as much as I could. I also told him that I would help bring other tap dancers by so they can jam as well. So… through @faithfulrhythmproductions, I issued a standing invitation to other tap dancers in town to come by and jam at Em and Mę when they have their Jazz Nights.

It wasn’t until this past Tuesday that a tap dancer besides Yours Truly was able to jam with the live musicians. Oliver Kaminski (@oliver_kaminski24) showed up for the first time and did his own jamming, and man, was he dope. 🔥

This is a combination of two different clips of me jamming with Daniel, Santino on bass, and Gabe on the piano. Many thanks to Oliver’s buddy Marco for filming this!

I absolutely have to learn to stay in the pocket. 🫤

#JazzNight #JazzAndTapDance #NashvilleTapFam #tapdance

👞: Yours Truly (@ekethump)
🪵: @omarafloors
👞: @millerandbentapshoes
🎹: @gabefeldmanmusic
Bass: @santino_tafarella
🥁: @danielferreira_rhythm
🎥: @sayyoproduction

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#TapClipOfTheDay:

The Colorado Dance Festival produced the first Tap Conservatory in the summer of 1992. This was a two-week program, co-curated by Brenda Bufalino and Lynn Dally, which brought together master tap artists to share the rich heritage of tap with professionals and students from across the world.

The reason I share this video from @commongroundtap with all of you is because tap masters such as Atkins and Coles, as well as some tap elders who, thankfully, are still with us today, created a legacy by passing on their knowledge to all of us. No matter what anyone says, no matter what anyone thinks, regardless of how you tap dance or how you approach the art form… it doesn’t matter.

If you own a pair of tap shoes, YOU are a part of that legacy. Period.

Some might disagree, and that’s okay. In this community, we gather, share, create, and honor the past while shaping the present and looking ahead to the future.

I was four years old in 1992 and had never even conceived of the notion that I could tap dance. But I wish I was there in 1992, dancing with and learning from those masters.

As for me… yes, I know I am not the best tap dancer. I acknowledge that I don’t know enough about tap and have so much more I want to learn. But I am committed to carrying on their legacy, come hell or high water.

It’s important to me. - C

#tapdance #tapcommunity

Repost from @commongroundtap
The fourth and final film screening this year at Colorado Tap Connection’s National Tap Dance Day event, curated by @sanssoucifest - produced by @rockymtnrhythm and Common Ground - hosted by @peakacademyofdance

PASSING IT ON: A TAP LEGACY
Directed by Steve Schmidt
Produced by Felicia Furman
Choreography by Charles “Honi” Coles, Cholly Atkins
Featuring Students of the Tap Conservancy
Cinematography by Ed Done

In the summer of 1992, the Colorado Dance Festival produced the first Tap Conservatory. The two-week program, co-curated by leading tap artists and educators Brenda Bufalino and Lynn Dally, brought together master tap artists to share the rich heritage of tap with professionals and students from all over the world.

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Happy Monday, and Happy Labor Day. We’re gonna do something a little bit different for this week’s #MondayDiscussion.

This is more of a challenge/call to action. I get the feeling that we all could benefit from a little bit of instruction and inspiration. We all could stand to learn something we haven’t previously learned or practiced. Furthermore, we all could stand to teach another person something new.

This is all about being selfless with our knowledge and our craft… and helping another person, whether we know that person or not, grow as tap dancers.

So here’s the challenge:

If there is a certain step, combination, or tap piece you want to demonstrate, break down, or teach in the form of a tutorial, please describe it in the comments section below. For example, if you want people to learn the bs chorus or leon collins’s No. 53, describe those pieces and their significance.

Also, if you are willing to do so, by all means record and post a tutorial of it and add @taptutorialcentral, @livinthattaplife, and @livinthattaplifebackup as collaborators! I’m sure there is some tap dancer out there who would be so appreciative of the knowledge you give. 💜

#tapcommunity #tapdance #tapdancers #taptutorials

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Remember that @emandmecafe’s next biweekly Jazz Night will be TOMORROW NIGHT, September 1. After that, they will have another on Tuesday, September 15.

As always, the house band plays from 5-6 PM, and the open jam goes from 6-8. Bring your tap shoes, and a wooden board will be provided unless, of course, you prefer to bring your own!

Em and Mę is located at 1244 3rd Avenue North in Germantown. RSVP for Jazz Night at https://emandmecafe.com/events/event/48/.

Come on by and jam this month! 🖤💜

#FaithfulRhythmProductions #JazzMusic #NashvilleTapDancers #NashvilleJazz #tapdance

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Join us on September 11 (7pm show) at the Bruno Walter Auditorium for the TAP CITY TAP DANCE AWARDS, a free event celebrating the contributions of significant figures in tap dance. This year’s honorees include Hoofer and Tap Preservation Award recipients, as well as new inductees into the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame.

Here is the link to the registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-2026-tap-city-awards-tickets-1997632763370?aff=oddtdtcreator

Visit: ATDF.org/events
#atdf
#decfa
#jazz
#big band
#dukeellington
tonywaag
TapDance
Awards
Legacy
Community
Support
@atdforg
@americantapdancefoundation
@waagville
@decfaorg

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