Sharing a Stage with Broadway

Last weekend the tap company that I am blessed to be a part of, Footnotes Tap Ensemble, had it's 10th Anniversary Concert. It was a talent-filled performance of tap dancing, a live band and special guest artist Michelle Dorrance,. For those of you that are not familiar with Michelle - look her up! Michelle is a Bessie Award winning tap dancer. She is the dance captain for the Broadway sensation STOMP and has her own tap dance company called Dorrance Dance. It is truly an honor to share the stage with the world's most famous female tap dancer. The picture at the top of this blog entry is of the performers and the band - Peter Lam and the Wolves. Below is a picture of me and Michelle. Sharing a playbill with all of these people is a humbling experience like none other! It is difficult to put into words the feeling of sharing the passion for music, dance and entertainment with such a wonderful group of people. 

Happy Feet

Last weekend I attended the North Carolina Rhythm Tap Festival in Chapel Hill, NC. I can't believe it but this year was the 12th year I have attended this world acclaimed festival. The festival is a whole weekend of non-stop tap classes by some of the world's originators and most famous tap dancers. It is an honor to be able to take classes from these tappers or as they are known "hoofers." The faculty change every year which allows for you to take classes and learn from a lot of the great masters of tap dance. This year I had the opportunity to take class with Michelle Dorrance, Josh Hilberman, Derick Grant, Nicholas Young and Dianne Walker. It's so much fun to be able to go to large festivals like this one and seeing people you know. It makes for a fun class when you walk in and you are standing next to dancers that you formerly danced with in college or from other studios and competitions. It just proves how small the dance world really is. Everyone is truly connected somehow! It was a lot of dancing but so worth it! Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

ECU Alumni with Derick Grant

ECU Alumni with Nicholas Young (lead in Stomp!)

ECU Alumni with "Lady Di" Dianne Walker

Loving the Arts

Last weekend, the arts were the buzz in the streets of Raleigh. The annual arts event, Sparkcon, brought people from all over to share their love of art in downtown Raleigh. Friday, Saturday and Sunday the streets of Raleigh were shut down to celebrate the joys of art. Street painters filled the streets and entered contests on their chalk work. The works they created were incredible and full of detail! Dancers filled the street corners and the stages. Skateboarders did skateboarding demonstrations. Friday night consisted of a DJ Battle and a fashion show. Saturday and Sunday entertained dancers of all art forms, free dance classes, poetry, songwriting workshops, musicians, grafitti contests, photography classes, mobile cell phone picture contests, aerielist workshops, & fire and LED light shows. I enjoyed going to help celebrate art as a whole, as well as perform with Footnotes Tap Ensemble. I feel as if "art" gets overlooked in today's fast-paced culture. However art should be nurtured. It is a creative outlet for children, teens and adults to express themselves. It is a way for people to de-stress and step away from the business world of computer screens. I applaud Raleigh for creating an environment of a completely free arts festival to promote healthy individuals through creativity and self-expression.

One of the awesome street painting squares.


This one is so creative! A cat looking through a fish bowl.

Performing on the main stage with Footnotes Tap Ensemble.

Performing a historical Bill Bojangles piece from the early 1900's called "Doing the New Low Down"