Faculty
Founder/Director
Instructors
Susan Hebach has been a leader in tap dance education and artistry since 1998. She founded Tap Dance for Young People and directed the American Tap Dance Foundation Youth Program and Tap City Youth Ensembles from 2005-2024. Susan has dedicated her career to tap dance! After earning her B.S. in Dance Education from Georgia State University, she moved to NYC to study at "Woodpeckers Tap Dance Center & Inter Arts Space" with Brenda Bufalino, members of the ATDO, and other tap masters. Susan’s tap curriculum synthesizes the technique, choreography, and jazz musicality learned from her mentors. She co-directs the Tap Teacher Training Program, served on the dance faculty at Oklahoma City University and Stephens College, and has taught locally at Steps on Broadway, Rosie's Theater Kids, 92nd St. Y, and the PS 11 after school program. Susan’s choreography has been performed at venues including Town Hall and Symphony Space by her ensemble, the Tap Dance Collective.
Susan Hebach
Alice Baum is a tap dancer, jazz and opera singer based in New York City. She began her tap education at 5 years old, learning how to shuffle from her grandmother and lifelong mentor Brenda Bufalino. When she turned 8, Alice started studying at the American Tap Dance Foundation and eventually joined the Tap City Youth Ensemble, graduating in 2019. Alice earned her undergraduate degree at Bard College, where she studied voice and classical opera and started Bard’s first Tap Club.
Alice Baum
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From age 12-21 She held the position as assistant teacher for Brenda Bufalino’s ultimate beginner class in Gardiner, New York. In 2020 Alice completed the Level 1 section of the American Tap Dance Foundation’s Tap Teacher Training. Throughout her training She was privileged to study with many teachers including; Susan Hebach, Barbara Duffy, Margaret Morison, Michelle Dorrance, Jason Samuel Smith, Claudia Rahardjanoto, Caleb Teicher, and Tamii Sakurai and she has performed with many of them throughout her career. Alice has had the honor of singing and tap dancing in a handful of different venues across New York, including: The Guggenheim Museum Theater, Lincoln Center Performing Arts Library, City Center, Symphony Space, Wildheart, and The Fisher Center.
Alice is excited to be back as a teacher at Tap Dance Central. She brings her rich background in tap history and musicality to each class and challenges her students to think “Swing”!
Rachel Binney is a tap dancer based in New York City. Rachel began dancing in Brewster, NY where she studied as a multidisciplinary dancer with Nicole Aravena. She took a special interest in tap dance, and sought further training at Steps on Broadway with Derick K Grant and at the American Tap Dance Foundation as part of the Tap City Youth Ensemble. Some of Rachel's performance appearances include the New York City Tap Festival, Chicago Human Rhythm Project, Beantown Tap Festival as part of Sarah Reich’s Tap Music Project, Tap Family Reunion, Asbury Park Dance Festival as part of Jared Alexander & Friends, and more.
Rachel Binney
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Michela has had the privilege of being mentored by tap legends such as Gregory Hines, Buster Brown, Leroy Myers, and Mable Lee. She holds the unique distinction of being the only female lifetime honorary member of the legendary tap dance fraternity The Copasetics and has been featured on a U.S. Forever Postage Stamp that honors the art form of tap dance. Her accolades include the Hoofer Award and the FloBert Award. The Huffington Post has referred to her as a “hurricane of rhythm.” She has been highlighted multiple times in The New York Times, including being features=d in T Magazine alongside her mentor and dear friend Anna Deavere Smith who recognized her as her artistic heir. Quincy Jones has also praised her as an “absolute tap dancing star who knows her roots.”
Throughout her extensive career, Michela has performed as a soloist and with her group, Love Movement, at prestigious venues such as the Joyce Theater, The Kennedy Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Hollywood Bowl, The Whitney Museum of American Art, Mass MoCa, and many more. Recently, she premiered her full-length theatrical work “Once Upon A Time Called Now” and co-produced the documentary film “American Tap.” In addition to her performance work, Michela is also dedicated to education. Michela has collaborated musically with a host of notable figures, continually pushing the boundaries of tap dance within the realm of music.
Michela Marino Lerman Website: https://www.michelataps.com/about
Time is a performing artist from Chicago IL whose work is driven by history, process, and improvisation. He has performed all over the US as a Tap Dancer, Equity Actor, Singer, Musician, and Puppeteer. He has performed with renowned tap companies Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s Stone Soup Rhythms, Nico Rubio's 333, and as a principal dancer for MADD Rhythms.
Time Brickey
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His talents and works have been featured at 5th Avenue Seattle,The Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, DuSable Museum of African American History, Columbia College Chicago, Chicago Childrens Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre, Rough House Theatre, Cabinet of Curiosity, The School at Jacob’s Pillow, and The Chicago International Puppet Theatre Festival. Time has danced in a musical capacity with artists such as Sonny Thompson, Ben Lamar Gay, Edith Yokely, and Sharon Udoh. Time makes and sells tap boards across the US, through his small business, Time on the Wood. Check him out at timebrickey.com or @time.brickey on socials.
A native New Yorker, Emma Butensky began studying tap dance at age 7 with Susan Hebach. An original member of the Tap City Youth Ensemble, she had the opportunity to perform in a variety of different venues including Symphony Space, the Duke Theater, the 2010 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, MeTV (Nickelodeon), and City Center. She was also a featured dancer on the TV show Angelina Ballerina. In the summer of 2012, Emma was the youngest member to be selected for the second ever Jacob's Pillow Tap Program.
Emma Butensky
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Rachel has co-produced and choreographed a show entitled "Love Notes to Tap Dance" through the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at NYU. She presented for Steps Beyond Foundation’s Performance Lab at Steps on Broadway. Rachel joined Dance Lab New York as Rehearsal Director for their 2022 Tap Dance Lab Cycle under the direction of Ayodele Casel and Torya Beard with choreographers Naomi Funaki, Dario Natarelli, and Demi Remick.
Rachel attended Lehman College for Rehabilitation Science and seeks to continue collaborations with arts education organizations such as Dance Education Equity Association (DEEA). Rachel is currently on faculty at Tap Dance Central and a guest teacher at studios across the greater New York (city) area.
Brian Sylvester Davis (Teacher) started as a street performer. With the support of his mother Angela Marie Davis, he tap danced on a board to raise money for his lessons and trips. He can now gratefully call himself a professional Dancer, singer, actor, choreographer, and teacher. His belief is that "I am you and you are me," and he aspires to reach every member of his audience as a member of his own family, thus giving him the nickname "Brother Brian".
Brian Davis
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Brother Brian began by building a foundation in dance with the North West Tap Connection in his home town of Seattle Washington under the artistic direction of Dr Darryln A. Smith and Melba Ayco. In the Duo of the Tapoholiks with Seattle native Alex Jackson, he choreographed the show stopping number “I Like The Way You Move,” which won the Seattle Apollo Star Search and earned the Tapoholiks a spot on the legendary and nationally televised “Showtime at the Apollo”. While competing, Brian attracted the attention of CP Lacey who then offered Brian a spot as the substitute "Executioner" for the Apollo Theater's historic "Amateur Night" competition, a title formerly held by the late great Sandman Sims. As a graduate of the University of the Arts, he earned a BFA in Modern Dance and a Musical Theater Minor. Brian holds the title of Philly Tap Idol for 2008, and is a former member of Tap Team 2 of Philadelphia under the direction of Robert Burden. Brian studied acting and voice with the Lola Louis' Creative and Performing Arts Studio (CAPAS). The passionate Lola Louis would teach Brian with love and compassion as if he were her own. She not only coached him, Lola taught Brian about Love and instilled the "I am You" principle into Brian's life and work. Brian is eternally thankful. His Theater Credits include, “My One and Only” Goodspeed Opera House, "Rhythm is Our Business" 14th Theater (NYC), "Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic" Liberty Theatre (NYC) "On Kentucky Avenue," Triad Theater New York, NYC) and Broadway's "After Midnight" on board the Norwegian Escape as the Tap Mathematician. Notable Choreographic Credits include, "I like the Way you Move" Performed on the Nationally Televised Showtime at the Apollo Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic (Off Broadway,) The Broadway Bound Musical Showcase of (Dorothy), Bojangles New Musical and his own show, "TAPTASTIC"
Barbara Duffy’s (Teacher, TTT) performance highlights include “The Gregory Hines Show”, where she was a featured dancer, actress and choreographer, “Gala for The President”, performing with Gregory Hines before President and Mrs. Bill Clinton and as dance captain and featured dancer in Brenda Bufalino’s American Tap Dance Orchestra. Barbara performs as a soloist across the United States and overseas, including London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, where she was hailed as “a riveting performer” by the Independent.
Barbara Duffy
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Her all women ensemble, Barbara Duffy & Company performed at the Duke Theatre, NYC, the Joyce Theater, NYC, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, NYC, the University of Richmond, the Tanz Haus Theatre in Dusseldorf, Germany, Jacob’s Pillow and with Tony Waag’s Tap City on Tour. In August, 2008, Barbara received the “Rhythm World Award” for preserving and passing on the legacy of Leon Collins. She was also the recipient of the American Tap Dance Foundation’s prestigious “Hoofer Award” in July, 2013 and the New York National Tap Day Committee’s “FloBert Award” in May, 2015. She holds a BA in Performing Arts. A highly sought after, Barbara has taught at numerous workshops and festivals in 20 countries and was on the faculty of Steps on Broadway, Broadway Dance Center and the American Tap Dance Foundation. Since 2014, she has been a proud faculty member of the American Tap Dance Foundation’s Tap Teacher Training program. Most recently, Barbara was featured as a dancer and actor in the short film, “When Snow Falls”, directed and choreographed by Anthony Morigerato, co-starring Ted Louis Levy. The film has won the 2021 New York International Film Award for Best Musical and Best Director for a short film. It has also won an honorable mention for Musical/Dance Film from the 2021 Los Angeles Film Awards, as well as being chosen as the “Official Selection” of many other film festivals. Barbara’s book, “Tap into Improv, A Guide to Tap Dance Improvisation” is available on Amazon. Her greatest inspirations are Brenda Bufalino, the late Leon Collins and the late Gregory Hines.
Orlando Hernández is a tap dancer and choreographer from New Jersey, based in NYC. He has presented his work at New York Live Arts, On the Boards, Dance Now at Joe’s Pub, the Granoff Center at Brown University, Movement Research at the Judson Church, and La Casa de Cultura Ruth Hernández Torres. He has received grants and residencies from the New England Foundation for the Arts, the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, Yaddo, the CUNY Dance Initiative, and the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone.
Orlando Hernández
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Orlando holds a B.A. in English from Yale University. He was a 2022-23 Fresh Tracks Artist at New York Live Arts and a 2023 Artist-in-Residence at the Center for Performance Research. He is a member of the tap dance and music companies Music From the Sole, Subject:Matter, and Michela Marino Lerman's Love Movement, and has danced in the Tap Family Reunion, Christina Carminucci’s Free Spirits Suite, and Cats Paying Dues. Orlando helped to develop Trinity Repertory Company and Rhode Island Latino Arts’ bilingual collaboration Teatro en el Verano, and his play La Broa’ (Broad Street) recently premiered at Trinity Rep.
Orlando Hernández Website: www.orlyhernandez.com
Orlando Hernández Instagram: @pineappleju_icefrog
She is a New York City-based tap dancer and educator who started tap dancing at the age of 10 in Osaka, Japan. She currently works at Steps on Broadway, Broadway Dance Center, and Mark Morris Dance Center as a dedicated tap dance instructor. In 2005, she became a member of Mable Lee's Dancing Ladies and performed in the New York Tap Extravaganza and the New York Tap Festival. She was also a member of Sophisticated Ladies, choreographed by Dormeshia, and performed weekly at the world-famous Cotton Club for over three years.
Yuka Kameda
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Additionally, she was a member of Tapestry, a professional repertory tap dance company based in Austin, Texas.
As a solo tap dancer, Yuka has performed at venues such as the Blue Note, Birdland Jazz Club, Bryant Park, Levon Helm Studios, and South by Southwest (SXSW), one of the world's biggest film, interactive media, and music festivals. Other career highlights include performing for the Colbert Report and performing at Jazz at Lincoln Center, orchestrated by Wynton Marsalis with choreography by Jared Grimes. In April 2024, Yuka created the band Secret Drive with veteran pianist Chris Swan. Secret Drive has become a crowd favorite in the New York City music scene with their original blend of swing, funk, and R&B. They recently packed the world-famous Arthur's Tavern for both sets of their debut appearance.
Yuka is a graduate of the CUNY Graduate Center, where she majored in Music Performance and Dance. Yuka studied closely under the mentorship of Ryan Keberle, hailed in the Jazz Times International Critics Poll as the #1 Trombonist, a player "of vision and composer" according to The New York Times. She believes that extensively studying music helps her become a better musician/tap dancer.
Lisa La Touche (Teacher/Artist in Residence/TTT) Originally from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, some of Lisa's performance highlights have included touring with Savion Glover's production, STEPZ, and also performing in both New York's Off-Broadway and the North American touring casts of STOMP. She has previously worked with and performed in Jason Samuels Smith's company A.C.G.I and in excerpts from "Chasin' the Bird", and has also performed alongside Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards as part of the original The Cotton Club ensemble in Harlem.
Lisa La Touche
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Other companies she has worked with have included Max Pollak’s Rumba Tap, Barbara Duffy and Company, Tre Dumas' JusLisTeN, M.A.D.D. Rhythms, the Chicago Human Rhythm Project and also The Cab Calloway Foundation Inc. Lisa has produced and directed her own concerts within North America and is continuously working as performer, choreographer and teacher internationally in countries such as Brazil, China, Germany, Switzerland, the UK and across Canada to name a few. She is also a previous faculty member of the School of Jacob's pillow under the Direction of Dianne Walker and has appeared as an artist in residence at The American Tap Dance Foundation and the Vancouver Tap Dance Society and as guest faculty at Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway in NYC.
She was part of the tap dance company KatadoS por Aí, where she had the opportunity to dance as a guest artist at festivals such as Brazil International Tap Festival and at the New York Tap Festival, Tap City. While at the company, Maria worked under internationally renowned choreographers such as Michelle Dorrance, Steve Zee, Juliana Garcia and Caio Nunes.
Maria Clara Laet
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In 2021 she produced, choreographed and starred in the dance short film Luvemba, screened in 14 festivals internationally including: Future Dance Festival (New York, United States), Sans Souci Brasil (Campinas, Brazil/ Boulder, Colorado), Cinedanza (Modena, Italy) and Rio WebFest (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Other performance highlights include coordinating and leading a tap dance section with the band Unidos do Swing in its street carnaval parade, performing to a crowd of over 10,000 people.
She was selected by Michelle Manzanales, director of Ballet Hispanico, as a featured choreographer in the Future Dance Festival, produced by 92NY Harkness Dance Center. She was awarded by tap master Dianne Walker at New York City’s Tap Festival with the Tap City Award in 2013 and won Desafio Tap in Rio in 2015 and 2022. She is a two time winner of the Bill Bojangles Prize, the biggest tap dance choreography competition in Brazil.
Maria Clara holds a bachelor degree in History from University of São Paulo. Her education and training also include Level 1 of the Tap Teacher Training offered by American Tap Dance Foundation, where she was mentored by Barbara Duffy. Maria has worked as a tap teacher continuously for 10 years and is a lifelong learner.
Michela Marino Lerman is a celebrated tap dance artist, musician, improviser, choreographer, and educator, celebrated for her dynamic performances and innovative approach to the art of tap dance. Her work primarily explores the intersection of tap and music, particularly jazz, positioning tap not only as dance but also as a significant form of music . Recognized by Downbeat Magazine as “jazz’s premier tap dancer” and described by The New York Times as “an outstanding jazz musician,” she has garnered widespread acclaim for her contributions to both fields. Michela continually works to push the boundaries of tap dance within the realm of music.
Michela Marino Lerman
She is a performer, actor, model, and dance educator. A graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where she founded and led NYU's first tap club, and an alum of The Tap City Youth Ensemble and The School at Jacob’s Pillow Tap Performance Ensemble. she has performed on stage and screen across theater, concert dance, and film (Birdland, The Duke on 42nd Street, Symphony Space, Netflix, PBS, Hulu, Disney+).
Tanya Madison
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With a rich training in jazz, rhythm, and musicality, shaped by the mentorship of great artists such as Jason Bernard, Brenda Bufalino, Dormeshia, Michelle Dorrance, Derick K. Grant, and Jason Samuels Smith, Tanya has a passion for bringing energy, focus, and joy into the studio. She has taught and assisted at Tap Dance Festival UK, Shantalliv Tap Festival, The New York City Tap Festival, Broadway Dance Center, and Steps on Broadway, and is represented by @kreativartists.
You can view her recent work @Tanyamadison__ and www.tanyamadison.com
Kaleena (Teacher/Artist in Residence) is a tap dancer and choreographer based in Minneapolis and New York. She is a 2015 McKnight Dance Fellow, recipient of grants from the Jerome Foundation and the Minnesota State Arts Board and was named one of DANCE Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2016. She has been an Artist-in-Residence at Air Le Parc (France), Everwood Farmstead Foundation (WI) and the Southern Theater (MN) as part of their ARTshare programming. Kaleena was a founding member of Rhythmic Circus and toured extensively with the show Feet Don’t Fail Me Now! from 2009-2017, highlights including performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Scotland), the Kennedy Center (DC) and the New Victory Theater (NY).
Kaleena Miller
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She received a BFA in Dance from the University of MN- Twin Cities. She is currently Co-Director of the Twin Cities Tap Festival, Director of Kaleena Miller Dance and KMD2 in Minneapolis and an Artist in Residence at the American Tap Dance Foundation in New York. Kaleena makes sound-focused dance and performance work, rooted in tap dance technique and deep listening modalities. She is thankful for and deeply indebted to her first tap dance teachers: Karla Grotting and Char Weiss.
Kaleena Miller Website: www.kaleenamiller.com
Kaleena Miller Videos: https://vimeo.com/user9547199
Margaret Morrison is a rhythm tap soloist, choreographer, writer, dance scholar, and teacher. Her dance works, theater productions, fiction, and scholarship explore tap at the intersections of gender, race, queerness, and history. She has taught and performed across the US, Europe and Brazil and received the Flo-Bert Award and the American Tap Dance Foundation Hoofer Award for her contributions to tap dance. The New York Times hailed Margaret's performing as “feather-footed and musically astute.”
Margaret Morrison
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She performed in December 2012 with this group at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. In 2014, Emma became a YoungArts Winner in tap. In May 2018, Emma graduated from Vassar College. While there, she was President of Vassar's largest dance group, Vassar On Tap, and produced eight tap shows. In 2019, Emma was on faculty at the UK Tap Festival, and in 2023, she assisted Lisa La Touche with the pre-professional program at Tap City. Emma has been teaching youth and adult classes at the American Tap Dance Foundation since 2018, and she has performed at numerous ATDF events, including Tap City. In 2021, Emma graduated with an M.S.Ed in Early Childhood Education from Bank Street Graduate School of Education. She is currently a pre-K teacher at Compass Charter School in Brooklyn. Emma has had the honor of studying under tap masters such as Michelle Dorrance, Nicholas Young, Max Pollak, Lisa La Touche, Brenda Bufalino, Barbara Duffy, and Derick Grant.
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She has worked for over thirty-five years in multi-disciplinary collaborations with percussionists, poets, jazz musicians, and dancers. She began her performing career in 1986 as a founding member of the American Tap Dance Orchestra, directed by Brenda Bufalino. She choreographs for ensembles and independent film, and wrote, starred, and tap danced in her first play Home In Her Heart, which ran for over 40 performances in NYC. Margaret holds an MFA from American Dance Festival/Hollins University. Her scholarship on tap dance is published in The Oxford Handbook of Black Dance and scholarly journals. She is currently at work on a novel about 1930s jazz women. Margaret is a popular master teacher specializing in rhythm tap technique, jazz musicality, improvisation, tap composition, and tap dance history. She has served as Education Advisor for the American Tap Dance Foundation and was on the dance faculties of Barnard College and NYU-CAP21. As creator and co-director of the Rhythm Tap Teacher Training Program, she mentors tap dance instructors across the globe in rhythm tap pedagogy and jazz excellence.
Adante is an actor, singer, and dancer from Brooklyn, New York. He began his journey with a scholarship to the Alvin Ailey Bounding Boys program and later, The American Tap Dance Foundation, which was endorsed by prominent tappers such as Gregory Hines. Adante has also worked on various print and commercial projects. He later joined The Lion King Gazelle Tour as “Young Simba” and toured around the country. Upon returning to New York, he was in Love and Information, written by Caryl Churchill.
Adante Power
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During high school, Adante had the privilege of having his own play published by Samuel French and performed by his peers in collaboration with Roundabout Theatre Company. Additionally, Adante sang support for the likes of Bernadette Peters and Lorde on venues such as Late Night with Seth Meyers.
After graduating from The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, has began working to share his passion for song and dance with others as a tap teacher at PurElements and now, The American Tap Dance Foundation.
Case Prime is a tap dancer originally from Lake George, NY. In his teens he was an eager student in the American Tap Dance Foundation’s youth ensemble and studied weekly with Tina Fretto. In 2018, Case moved to Chicago, starting his dance career as an apprentice with Chicago Tap Theatre, directed by Mark Yonally. Also, upon his arrival in Chicago, Case got in class with Starinah Dixon and Bril Barrett at the M.A.D.D. Rhythms Tap Academy. He soon started his apprenticeship with M.A.D.D. and has been a company member since 2021.
Case Prime
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He is also grateful to be an alumnus of the 2021 Tap Program at the School at Jacob’s Pillow. Case has been teaching tap dance at numerous dance studios around the Chicago area since 2020, and has had the opportunity to teach at the esteemed tap festivals RIFF Dallas and the Chicago Tap Summit. Recently, Case introduced his own creative project, YellowShed, to the internet, sharing some of what he and his friends have been up to in his alleyway studio. Now, Case has moved back to the east coast, excitedly joining the NYC tap community.
Jessee Leigh Robinson is a New York City-based tap dancer from Los Angeles, CA. She is an alumna of The School at Jacob’s Pillow Tap Dance Program 2021 and 2023 where she performed work by Dormeshia, Derick Grant, and Michelle Dorrance. In New York, Jessee is currently working with Anthony Morigerato’s production company AM Dance Productions. She has most recently been a part of pre-production for Jelly’s Last Jam at NYCC Encores! choreographed by Dormeshia and Anything Goes at the MUNY choreographed by Jared Grimes.
Jessee Robinson
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She was also a dancer with Dance Lab New York for their 2024 Tap Dance Lab Cycle under the direction of Ayodele Casel and Torya Beard. Some of Jessee’s recent performance credits include: The School Of Jacob’s Pillow Tap Dance Program on the Henry J. Leir Stage, Symphony Space, The Broadway Rhythm Summer Jazz Festival, Steps Beyond Foundation, and Arts on Site. As a choreographer, Jessee has enjoyed the opportunity to present her work at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Arts on Site, Dixon Place, and The Craft.
Mary Six Rupert started her dance training at the age of 2 and started performing at 2 ½. She has taught at The Juilliard School, Steps 74, Broadway Dance Center, and Bridge for Dance in New York City. She has taught master classes in Vienna; Paris; Beyreuth, Germany; and Fukuoka, Japan, as well as at academic institutions and private studios in California, Texas, Alaska and Ohio. Mary Six was a professor of 4 levels of tap at Wagner College for 8 years. She also was a Radio City Rockette for 13 years including positions of dance captain, emergency swing and assistant to directors and choreographers.
Mary Six Rupert
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She also performed in musicals such as 42nd Street, Gypsy, Singin’ in the Rain, My One and Only and Can-Can. She worked with stars such Chita Rivera, Rita Moreno and director/choreographers such as Maurice Hines, Alan Johnson and Joe Layton. The highlight of her tap-dancing career was performing a tap duet with Harold Nicholas (of the famous tap-dancing Nicholas Brothers) at the London Palladium.
Mary Six created Tap Dancing Hands Down®, which is a unique system of tap dancing with hands instead of feet. This system allows those with mobility concerns to still enjoy learning and performing tap dancing. She uses Tap Dancing Hands Down® in her experimental dance company Tap: On Tap, which includes dancers with disabilities.
Tap Dancing Hands Down® is a trademarked system of tap dancing with hands instead of feet. The dancer is seated, uses custom tap gloves and taps on a small wooden tap board placed in their lap. This class is perfect for anyone with mobility issues including those with foot or knee problems, balance issues, recent knee surgeries or wheelchair users, and more. It is taught very much like a traditional tap class including tap technique, terminology and fun choreography to a variety of styles of music.
Tamii Sakurai is originally from Tokyo, Japan, where she was trained as a tap dancer by her grandfather, Satoshi “Bin” Hino. She moved to New York by herself at the age of 16 to pursue her education and explore opportunities. Since living in New York, she has become a founding member, dance captain, and rehearsal director of Tap City Youth Ensemble, an American Tap Dance Foundation project. Tamii had the privilege of working with numerous leading tap dancers including Barbara Duffy, Derick K. Grant and Caleb Teicher, and companies such as Brenda Bufalino’s “New” American Tap Dance Orchestra and Michelle Dorrance’s Dorrance Dance.
Tamii Sakurai
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In 2006, she founded her own company, Team Walt with her close friends in Tokyo. She has recently graduated from CUNY Hunter College with a BA in Mathematics and Dance and is focusing more on teaching tap dance and looking for challenging projects to gain perspective. Her most recent work includes joining the New York City cast for the long-running Off-Broadway show STOMP, where she feels humbled to perform with a talented cast every night. Tamii is extremely thankful to her grandfather for introducing her to tap dancing, and she continues dancing as a tribute to him.
Originally from Pernambuco in Northeast Brazil, Lucas Santana started studying tap at 8 and has since performed on some of the biggest stages and TV shows in Brazil. He first collaborated with Music From The Sole in 2017, most recently appearing at Jacob’s Pillow, Joyce Theater, Fall for Dance, Harlem Stage, The Yard, and Works & Process at the Guggenheim in NY and Bilbao. Lucas holds a degree in philosophy from the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, and a master’s degree in Theatre at UdeSC in Florianópolis.
Lucas Santana
Lynn Schwab, a member of Barbara Duffy and Company, RumbaTap, and The Tap Collective, has performed at such notable New York venues as The Duke on 42nd Street, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, Town Hall, Off Broadway’s La MAMA, World Festival 2000, The International Street Performers Festival, The River to River Festival, Central Park’s SummerStage, Joe’s Pub, Studio 54, The Joyce and The Joyce SoHo Theatres. She has performed at Jacob’s Pillow and as a guest artist with Billy Siegenfeld and Jeannie Hill’s Jump Rhythm Jazz Project.
Lynn Schwab
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With members of The Tap Collective, she choreographed and performed the Morton Gould Tap Dance Concerto with the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra. She has performed with The Chamber Orchestra Kremlin, and at festivals in the U.S., Germany, Spain, France, Holland, and Estonia. She continues to tour the U.S. with Tap City on Tour and in addition to her regular classes at Steps on Broadway in New York City, teaches and performs at festivals and workshops in the U.S., Europe and Japan.