TAP IT OUT
300 tapping feet in the middle of Times Square on July 13
“TAP IT OUT”- SATURDAY, JULY 13
Father Duffy Square, 45-47th Street, Bdway & 7th Ave., Noon, 1 and PM
300 Tapping Feet in the Center of Times Square
New York, NY, June 18, 2013 – Tap it Out, a free, public, outdoor event, will be presented and performed three times on the afternoon of Saturday, July 13th in the heart of Manhattan. The production, at noon, 1 and 2pm in Father Duffy Square/Times Square (45th-47th Street/Broadway and 7th Avenue) is part of the week-long annual TAP CITY Festival (July 6-13), presented by the American Tap Dance Foundation (ATDF) in Tap’s home town, New York City.
Dancers and students of all ages and levels, from all over the world, will join together to create a thunderous chorus of 300 hundred tapping feet in a pre-choreographed orchestral collage of a cappella unison rhythms, contrapuntal sequences, individual riffs, movements and grooves. Tap it Out will be conducted by ATDF Artistic Director and Tap City producer, Tony Waag.
“As a producer and director, I am always trying to find new ways of inspiring the next generation of hoofers, creating and building new audiences and educating the general public about this wonderful, yet very complex American art form we call Tap Dance. Tap It Out is not only an opportunity to celebrate the form, but also to expand and challenge the limited perception that tap dance is either old fashioned, only for the exceptionally talented, or too immature to be taken seriously…. as we celebrate this fantastic American art form this July, we're reintroducing Tap Dance to the public where it was actually born and developed, on the street corners of Manhattan.” - Tony Waag.
Tap It Out is a contemporary percussion and movement “soundscape” that promotes tap dance as pure music. Numerous eight and 16 bar phrases are developed through repetition, creating multiple canons and conversations, mixing and blending unison segments with overlaid beats that build to crescendos or diminish to a silence creating a super “hybrid” explosion of tones and rhythms.
Tap dance, which began in America in the 1800’s on plantations, and on city streets, is now produced all over the globe. Tap dance festivals and tap dance studios have sprung up as far away as Beijing! Like its kissing cousin jazz, tap has become an international form of expression. It now returns to us subtly transformed by the many cultures that have adopted it as an art form.
TAP IT OUT
Saturday, July 13 noon, 1 & 2pm – Father Duffy Square/Times Square
Between 45th and 47th Streets, Broadway and Seventh Avenue
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ABOUT THETAP CITY FESTIVAL:
Drawing participants from around the world, Tap City, July 6-13, will be presented by The American Tap Dance Foundation (ATDF), featuring film presentations, awards, master classes and performance events by international artists. The week’s happenings will culminate at noon on Saturday, July 13, with 150 tap dancers hoofing it out in the heart of Manhattan at Father Duffy Square/Times Square in a free, public, outdoor celebration. READ MORE ABOUT TAP CITY: http://www.atdf.org/documents/PRESS_RELEASE_-_TAP_CITY_-_13.pdf
ABOUT THE AMERICAN TAP DANCE FOUNDATION
ADTF was founded in 1986 by tap master Charles “Honi” Coles, his protégée Brenda Bufalino, and the Foundation’s current artistic and executive director, Tony Waag. Called the American Tap Dance Orchestra until 2001, the organization was directed and choreographed by Ms. Bufalino and presented hundreds of stage performances and films from 1986 through 1999. From 1989 to 1995, it also operated Woodpeckers Tap Dance Center, where tappers from all over the world gathered for classes, workshops, jam session and performances. In 2002 with a new generation of tap dancers and enthusiasts, the Orchestra was renamed under the artistic direction and leadership of Tony Waag.
ATDF programs include:
• Tap City, the annual New York City Tap Festival
• The Tap City Youth Ensemble
• Concert Performances & National Tours
• The Gregory Hines Youth Scholarship Fund
• The International Tap Dance Hall of Fame
• Annual Hoofer & Tap Preservation Awards
• The Gregory Hines Collection of American Tap Dance archives at the Lincoln Center Library
American Tap Dance Center opened in 2010 as the home to the American Tap Dance Foundation, and offers year-round educational programs including:
• Tap Dance Conservatory
• Ongoing Classes for Youth, Teens & Adults
• Tap Choreography Intensives & Showcases
• Master Workshops for Professionals
• Artists In Residence Program
• Reconstruction & Choreography Commission Projects
• Rental Space for rehearsals
• Tap Talks, Jams & Film Presentations
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