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@jazztapdancer

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Follow my tap company @chicagotaptheatre

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1-Day Teacher Training School
Friday, Nov 6

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Tonight we came together to honor Mark Yonally, Founder and Artistic Director of Chicago Tap Theatre.

While there are so many reasons to celebrate Mark, tonight was extra special. Last month Mark was in New York to receive the prestigious Hoofer award.

The annual Hoofer Award recognizes prominent tap artists as leaders in the community for their unique contribution to the form and for inspiring future generations.

We are excited for Mark and for our CTT community, which continues to grow and inspire.

Special shout out to our newest Board Member Jhea Fulgaro, who also happens to be a talented sommelier.

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Joy drop

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We wanted to share some photos of CTT from the NYC @americantapdancefoundation award ceremony on Friday, September 11th! Our Artistic Director, Mark Yonally @jazztapdancer was honored with the Hoofer Award, and we couldn't be more proud.

Scroll through to see some highlights of the truly unforgettable evening. Our dancers brought the audience to their feet, earning a standing ovation from the tap-celebrity-packed audience, and tears from a clearly touched Mark. The incredible Dianne Walker came all the way out to celebrate Mark and the tap community, and we were honored that such a large portion of the audience were our professional dancer colleagues. We are so immensely grateful for our tap dance community, and this evening was proof of just how strong it is, even across the country!

A quote from Mark's acceptance speech from that evening:
"I think we sometimes forget just how much power we, and the dance, have, to change lives. I know that I needed the words, deeds and love of so many people in our field over the last five decades, and that, when needed, could always be found. It was my godmother, Dianne Walker, who taught me at 16 that one can’t just take from this dance form, that one has to give back to it also. This award is a beautiful reminder of just how powerful the support and love inherent in this form is, and how transformative it is when reflected outward."

You can check out Mark's post of gratitude on his Instagram as well. We are full of love, joy & gratitude.

📸 Photography by NYPL/Jonathan Blanc
ft. Jess Jurkovic on piano🎹
& Joe Hertenstein on drums🥁

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✨Teacher Training School✨
Registration opens Sept 15 for our 1-day Training School on Nov 6!

Gain valuable material to implement in your classrooms and learn about Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) - all in one day.
Open to dance teachers and assistants (16y+)

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✨Fall Weekend Workshop✨
November 7-8

Don’t miss this incredible weekend of dance for teachers and students!

Not your typical weekend dance convention…
- Full dance schedule for teachers
- 7 student levels
- No overcrowded ballrooms
- Classes in many different genres

Registration opens September 15 (Sept 1 for members)
#cnadm2026 #wheredancersconnect #jointhecnadmfamily

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I ❤️ NY

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🎂 TAP DANCER BIRTHDAYS: September 2

Happy birthday to:

•••••

Shaina Schwartz (@chezshaychef) - New Hampshire (she/her/they/them) 🩷

Mark Yonally (@jazztapdancer) - Chicago, Illinois 🤓

Pamela Allen (@pamelalilbit) - Seattle, Washington 👑

Carlie Miles (@fabdancer) - Gainesville, Florida
[look, Carlie can absolutely tap dance.] 😁🌺🩷

Louise Prem Klok (@louise_prem_klok) - Copenhagen, Denmark 🇩🇰

“The Behemoth,”
Brett Bibel (@behemoth13) - Arkansas 🏉

Shayla Pringle (@shaylapringle) - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ✨🩷

Mrs. Kathy Passmore (@kathypassm) - New Jersey 🖤🩷

HBD!

#TapDancerBirthdays #SeptemberTapDancers #tapdance #tapfam #tapfamily

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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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Marc Smith, founder of the Green Mill Uptown Poetry Slam and Mark Yonally, founder of Chicago Tap Theater treated us to a poetry tap dance mashup in the rain at Glenwood Arts Fest.

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♥️🩶🐺 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO 🐺🤍🖤

The annual @americantapdancefoundation Hoofer Award recognizes prominent tap artists as leaders in the community for their unique contribution to the form and for inspiring future generations.

It has just been announced that Mr. Mark Yonally (@jazztapdancer) will be awarded one of two Hoofer Awards for 2026! Mark is a 1999 graduate of @uofnm in Albuquerque.

Mark, a native of Shawnee, Kansas, is the founder and Artistic Director of @chicagotaptheatre, a critically acclaimed dance company in Chicago, which will be performing an annual three-show season and touring in America and Europe. Their performances have been recognized by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, SeeChicagoDance, and Windy City Media, with the 2016 show “TimeSteps” named Best New Production by Dance Magazine Reader’s Poll.

Mark is renowned internationally, performing solo in cities like Chicago, Helsinki, Barcelona, New York, Amsterdam, and Paris, and has worked with mentors such as Sam Weber and Dianne Walker. He has performed with the Bill Evans Dance Company and Especially Tap Chicago at prestigious festivals, including the St. Louis Tap Festival and the Royal Opera House in Helsinki. His choreography has been commissioned by various dance companies, and he collaborates with Valérie Lussac and Guillem Alcalay, teaching annually in Toulouse and Barcelona. Mark teaches and judges at dance conventions across the US and is an educator at @oklahomacityuniversity / @okcudance_ and @hopecollege. He has published in @dancespiritmagazine, @danceteachermagazine, and @dancemagazine, and hosts “The Tea on Tap,” featuring interviews with noted tap dancers.

Congratulations, Mark! A very well deserved honor! ♥️🩶🤍🖤🐺

#TapDanceGoesToCollegeMonth #TapDanceGoesToCollege #UofNMTapFam #tapdance #HooferAward26

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Hey, guys… with Tap Dance Goes To College Month starting this Saturday, maybe we can get a jump on it right now and use this opportunity tell each other where we attended (or are currently attending, or are about to attend) college. For example, I attended @mtsu in my hometown of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography in 2011. 💙🤍 I also earned a Master of Science degree in Geosciences from @wku in 2019. ❤️🤍

Comment your school or schools below, when you graduated, what degree or degrees you earned, and what your fields of study are!

[Shout out to the tap dancers who attended or are currently attending the @univmiami in Coral Gables, Florida!]

#TapDanceGoesToCollegeMonth #TapDanceGoesToCollege #tapdancingincollege #tapdance #tapdancers

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