MADD Love, MADD Respect & MADD Thanks
It is with a great debt of gratitude, strong sense of accomplishment and extreme humility that I extend this heartfelt “Thank You” to each and every one who made “The Chicago Tap Summit 2018” and “FEELING GOOD: A MADD Tribute To Nina Simone” a resounding success! For 3 days straight, we immersed ourselves in the history, culture and rhythms of tapdance and came away with a renewed commitment to the legacy of the “HOOFERS” and the legacy of “JAZZ”
THANK YOU Jimalita Tillman and the Harold Washington Cultural Center for giving us a culturally rich and historically Significant HOME. THANK YOU Ted & Susan Oppenheimer and The Oppenheimer Family Foundation for generously supporting our mission to uphold the traditions of Tap and Jazz Thank You Tillman-Hunter Enterprises, Dancing Fair, Chicago South Loop Hotel, Northwest Chiropractix, GR33NINK, Chloe & Maud, O’Mara Sprung Floors and MartyBoard for your years of unwavering support. Thank You Conscious Plates for being new supporters and bringing healthy eating into the festival. THANK YOU WDB Marketing & Sol Designs for creating all of our imagery and Branding.
OPPENHEIMER FAMILY FOUNDATION
THANK YOU Sarah Savelli for your willingness and your constant and continuous contributions to the artform. Thank You Martin “Tre” Dumas III for having my back and sharing your wealth of tap knowledge unselfishly. Thank You Victoria Jones, Ja’Bowen Dixon and Latrell Garnett for staying connected to the family and always being just a phone call away. Thank You Jumaane Taylor for coming through in a clutch! Thank you Star Dixon, Donnetta Jackson, Tristan Bruns for being my support system from inception to now! Thank You Alexandrya Fryson and Andrew Carr for coming out the gate swinging! The future of tap sounds good! Thank You Time Brickey, Carmen Paquette & KJ Sheldon for attending countless meetings and doing so much extra work. Thank you Devin Mosely, Ivy Anderson, Izaiah Harris, Brennen Parker, Keyana Latimer, Molly Sute and Rachel Benzing for supporting our mission in various ways! Last, but not least, Thank You Megan Davis for, once again, taking on more than any one person should take on…..present company included……without you, this would not have happened! I am in your debt!
Thank You Peggy Sutton and Muriel Foster for taking the time to share your stories and the legacies of Tommy Sutton, Sammy Dyer & Jimmy Payne Sr. We owe a great deal of appreciation and gratitude for the sacrifices made by our ancestors, so that we can tapdance! #NeverForget #RespectTheDance #History
THANK YOU Audrey Barrett aka Mama Rhythms for having me, raising me and supporting me in everything I do! Thank You to all the Apprentices and your families for being totally invested in M.A.D.D. Rhythms. Thank you Bemaji Tillman, Robert Hayes and Phoenix Singleton for making sure that we could be seen and heard on that stage! Thank you Ben “Jammin” Jonson for going above and beyond on this project. You believing in my vision made it so much more! Thank You Dee Alexander, Maggie Brown, Joan Collaso and Tecora Rogers for lending your voices and your energy. You all brought Nina Simone to life in a way, that even, I couldn’t imagine. Thank You Buddy Fambro, Chuck Webb and Theodis Rogers for bringing JAZZ to everyone’s ears, hearts, souls and soles! Thank You Sammy Dyer School of the Theatre & Hip Hop ConnXion for showing up and showing out!
If I forgot to Thank anyone, please charge it to my head, not my heart! See you 2019!
Bril Barrett, Star Dixon @ Rhythm World
We are excited to have you join Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s 28th year of Rhythm World!! Rhythm World is a tap and percussive arts festival which hosts internationally acclaimed faculty for a week of classes and performances.
During the week we have courses, masterclasses, workshops, an exclusive STOMP Intensive, teacher certification, a kids program and our Youth Tap Ensemble Conference. These classes are taught by masters of the art from and range in intensity from fast beginner to professional level tap dancing. Check out more details on our website https://chicagotap.org/rhythm-world-2018
On July 16th, we have our opening night kick-off jam at the Jazz Showcase at 7:30pm! This jam will host faculty, students and a live band for a must not miss event of the festival. Tickets are on sale now so buy them before we sell out!
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rhythm-world-28-opening-night-at-the-jazz-showcase-tickets-45109926003?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
Next up on July 18th we have a show at Navy Pier’s Polk Bros. Performance Lawn! Jason Janas’ company Co.MMIT and Charles Renato’s company CHR Project will be featured as well as different youth tap ensembles. This event is free and open to the public. Get there before the start time of 6:30pm to have the best view!
Finally we close out our festival with JUBA! Masters of Tap and Percussive Dance concerts at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts building. These shows start at 7:30pm and will be on Friday July 20th and Saturday July 21st. These shows are different each night and provide a unique wonderful tap dance experience. Tickets are one sale so buy yours now!
Tickets for Friday: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/juba-masters-of-tap-and-percussive-dance-friday-july-20-tickets-45259317838?aff=ebdssbeac
Tickets for Saturday: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/juba-masters-of-tap-and-percussive-dance-saturday-july-21-tickets-45261347910?aff=erellivmlt
Star Dixon @ Omaha Tap Fest’s Rhythm Weekend
Rhythm Weekend: Omaha Jazz & Tap Dance Festival 2018
July 12 @ 7:00 pm – July 15 @ 10:00 pm
$10 – $210
#Rhythmweekend2018 is July 13-15, with workshops of all levels in tap dance and authentic solo jazz dance —— weekend schedule below | full class schedule here —— with Roxane Butterfly, Star Dixon, Kyle Van Newkirk, Gaby Cook and Nathan Bugh —— instructor info below. Plus, lots of community activities throughout the weekend.
Star Dixon @ Tap Family Reunion NYC
Artistic Directed by world-renowned tap dance luminaries Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, Derick K. Grant, and Jason Samuels Smith, the first annual Tap Family Reunion is a three-day celebration of National Tap Dance Day – Bill “Bojangles” Robinson’s Birthday. Events include performances, gatherings, workshops and so much more! Taking place at key locations throughout the city, this event is centered on the original American art form of Tap Dance to attract participation from tap dancers and enthusiasts worldwide as well as further engage our local community. All programming is meant to highlight the intergenerational importance of our culture; celebrate our elders and make our history accessible to our youth and everyone in between; and focus on the historical connections of the original American art form of Tap Dance that is deeply rooted in New York City.
This event is made possible by the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, The New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, So Danca, Da Super Villianz (Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, Derick K. Grant & Jason Samuels Smith), MYTE (Metropolitan Youth Tap Ensemble), Elka Samuels Smith – Divine Rhythm Productions, Tamia Santana – The Brooklyn Arts, Dance NYC, and Fractured Atlas.
*CLICK HERE FOR FULL SCHEDULE OUTLINE
*SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Star Dixon w/Dorrance Dance @ Singapore International Festival Of Arts
A spectacular evening of tap dancing set to emotive blues music.
Created by the world-class powerhouse team of Michelle Dorrance, Derick K. Grant, Toshi Reagon, and Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, The Blues Project brings together some of today’s best tap artists, musicians, and choreographers in an innovative evening of rhythm, original live music, explosive energy, and raw emotion. Featuring performances by Bessie award-winning tap dance company Dorrance Dance with acclaimed singer-songwriter-guitarist Toshi Reagon and BIGLovely, The Blues Project is a creative collaboration that explores the relationship between music, sound, and movement.
As described by the Washington Post, “[the] intimate and rowdy merging of dance and music, with one disappearing into the other, hits you like a sonic distillation of a blistering American past and its perilous present, with a transcendent strength of spirit woven through.” This 60-minute production features an original score composed by Reagon, and performed live with her five-piece band, BIGLovely. Choreography by Dorrance, Grant, and Sumbry-Edwards, coupled with improvisations by the versatile dancers of Dorrance Dance, drives home the powerful conversation between live music and tap dance as its own musical score.
Winner of a Bessie Award in 2015 for outstanding production, The Blues Project brings together two dynamic ensembles for a transfixing program that expands and shatters notions about their respective art forms.
(Photos by Em Watson)
