Ernest “Brownie” Brown has been tap dancing for over seventy years.

He was half of the celebrated Vaudeville duo Cook and Brown. During the 30s and 40s, Cook and Brown headlined at New York’s Roxy, Radio City Music Hall, the Cotton Club, at London’s Palladium and the Latin Casino in Paris. A Broadway veteran of “Kiss Me Kate”, Brownie was one of the founding members of the original “Copasetics”, an elite tap company that was formed in the memory of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson.

He also performed during the Big Band era with Duke Ellington and Count Basie.

He is a recipient of the Flo-Bert and the Hoofer’s Award in New York, the Living Treasury Award in Oklahoma City and the St. Louis Hoofer’s Award. Currently, Mr. Brown dances with his partner and protégée Reggio “The Hoofer” McLaughlin; they appear on a tap documentary called “JUBA- Masters of Tap”.  

Robert L. Reed is the founder and executive/artistic director of the internationally renowned St. Louis Tap Festival (www.tapheritage.com), which is now in it’s 14th year. Reed is also the founder of the Robert L. Reed Tap Heritage Institute, Inc., a not-for-profit organization. Robert is a much sought after tap teacher, producer, choreographer, and performer and is Artist-In -Residence at Oklahoma City University (www.okcu.edu/dance_amgt). Mr. Reed is proficient at teaching many styles of tap and is the protege of Maceo Anderson, a founding member of the Four Step Brother dance act. He has a youth professional tap group known as the St. Louis Hoofers Club with members from four different states, which recently returned from the Duisburger Tap Festival in Germany. The young hoofers reached the semi-finals on Star Search. He was with Riverdance as dance captain and toured as a principle in Europe. Reed was a featured artist at the Peg Leg Bates Resort and has toured with Cab Calloway. Mr. Reed has opened for such Luminaries as Sammy Davis Jr., Jerry Lewis, Redd Foxx, Cher, the Smothers Brothers and David Hasselhoff, just to name a very few. He appears in the critically acclaimed Peg Leg Pates documentary Dancing with the Peg. He performs and travels worldwide, in Six Feet of Rhythm, with his daughter Robin and son Robert III who toured with Noise/Funk. Robert hosts his own television in Japan named for him Robert Hall (http://www.fujiint.co.jp/ROBERTHALL), which recently featured Quentin Tarantino and Brittany Spears as guests. August 3rd is Robert L. Reed Tap Heritage Day in St. Louis as declared by the Honorable Mayor Clarence Harmon.

Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards has been Tap Dancing since the age of 3. She started under the instruction of Paul and Arlene Kennedy in California and went on to perform in Rome, Italy at the Tip Tap Festival by the age of 8. From there she made her debut on Broadway at the age of 12, in the musical revue Black and Blue with greats such as Gregory Hines, Jimmy Slyde, Buster Brown and Savion Glover.

Her Broadway credits also include the Tony Award Winning Bring In Da’Noise, Bring In Da’Funk. Dormeshia has toured nationally with Wild Woman Blues and has performed with The Jazz Tap Ensemble having just celebrated the 25th anniversary in performance at the Joyce Theatre in New York City. Dormeshia completed a successful run as a dance captain, principal dancer and understudy to the lead role in the International Tour of Bring in Da’Noise, Bring in Da’Funk. She was a special guest artist for The 2001 and 2002 Harlem Jazz Dance Festivals where she performed a tribute to James “Buster” Brown in the latter. Dormeshia participated in annual celebrations of National Tap Dance Day in New York City’s Town Hall and other locations across the country.

Dormeshia's film credits include “TAP” (1989) with Gregory Hines, Spike Lee's movie “Bamboozled” (2000) with Savion Glover, having also lent her talent as Assistant Choreographer, and “The Rodgers and Hart Story: Thou Swell, Thou Witty” (1999). Sumbry-Edwards’ choreography has been featured in the off-Broadway show TAAP: The Art & Appreciation of Percussion for the all-female tap quartet R.I.F.F. (Rhythm In Female Feet) and was also utilized in Michael Jackson's music video “Rock Your World”. Publications that have featured Dormeshia include Jump Magazine, Essence, The New York Times, The Hartford Courant, The Village Voice, Dance Magazine and Dance Spirit Magazine. Dormeshia’s tap dancing was also spotlighted in a commercial for Tops.

Most recently, Dormeshia has performed in an industrial for Footlocker, and continues to work on projects with Savion Glover, including Usher‘s Birthday Party in New York City (2004) and completed her role in Debbie Allen’s workshop of the musical: SAMMY, focusing on the life and times of Sammy Davis Jr.

A native of Boston, Derick K. Grant has been tapping for 27 years. He was an original company member and Dance Captain for Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk at both The Joseph Papp Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival and on Broadway. Derick recreated Savion Glover's choreography and starred in the role of 'da beat for the first National Tour.

Derick began his training at the age of two at The Roxbury Center for the Performing Arts, and by the time he was eight years old, he has learned the "hoofin" style of tap from the master tap dancer Diane Walker. Derick furthered his training in Los Angeles at Universal Dance Design Studio under the tutelage of Paul Kennedy. Derick spent three years with the Jazz Tap Ensemble touring the world. He is the recipient of the Princess Grace Award for Upcoming Young Artists as well as The Helen Hayes Award (Washington D.C.) for Outstanding featured Actor for his role in Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk. Derick was featured at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts African Odyssey program, part of the Expresiones Latinas Festival. He collaborated on a piece that incorporated tap and capoeira with renowned Brazilian artist Nego Gato, which opened the festivities for singer Daniella Mercury. He also choreographed and performed in a piece on the history of tap that launched the Black History Month 2001 celebration at Aaron Davis Hall. Recent compositions were featured in The Queens Symphony Opera's Duke Ellington Concert in Ann Arbor's Arts Festival.

Most recently Derick's own creation A Night Out: Tap! toured the country for three months. Of his latest choreography and performance with Jazz Tap Ensemble at the Joyce Theater in NYC the New York Times said "Mr. Grant let gusts of rhythm propel him with remarkable velocity!"

Ayodele Casel, a native New Yorker, began her professional training at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She is also a graduate of a two year professional training acting program with William Esper in NYC. As a tap dancer, she toured internationally as the only female member in Savion Glover's company, N.Y.O.T.s. Most recently she joined Jazz Tap Ensemble for their 2005 Fall Tour while creating and choreographing her own piece "Diary of a Tap Dancer."

Ms. Casel's television and film credits include "Third Watch", "Law & Order", "The Jamie Foxx Show" and "Bojangles" starring Gregory Hines. She has had the honor of performing at The White House twice for President Bill Clinton, Carnegie Hall as part of a tribute to the legendary Nicholas Brothers, Radio City Music Hall for ABC Television and Madison Square Garden as a soloist during the halftime show of a New York Liberty game.

Ms. Casel has appeared on the cover of American Theater Magazine and The Village Voice as well as being featured in numerous articles in major dance magazines. In 2000, PAPER Magazine named Ayodele one of 50 Beautiful People in their yearly issue. Ayodele produced, starred in and directed three sold out, solo tap concerts in New York City. She has closely worked with and performed with the greatest tap dancers including the late great Gregory Hines. As a member of N.Y.O.T.s (Not Your Ordinary Tappers), she was featured in "Savion Glover's Nu York", "Monday Night Football" and on an off-Broadway stage in Downtown: Live Communication. Ayodele co-choreographed and performed a tribute to Rodgers and Hart for PBS' Great Performances and was featured on a recording of a Tribute to Duke Ellington Album with members of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.

Ayodele has presented works for Aaron Davis Hall, The Lisner Auditorium, Lincoln Center "Out of Doors", Joyce SoHo, Dance Theater Workshop, The Triad Theater, Joe's pub at The Public Theater among many others. She currently serves on several dance faculties, including Steps on Broadway.

Reggio "The Hoofer" McLaughlin began his career dancing in the subways of Chicago, where he developed  his unique and extraordinary style of hoofing. Now he is a Chicago tap icon.

Reggio has been profiled on educational television programs, numerous news highlights, Magazines, and books, he is currently appearing in a tap documentary called “Juba- Masters of Tap”, partnering the legendary Ernest “Brownie” Brown.

He is also featured tap dancing in a commentary due out in February on legendary singer Nat King Cole.

His performance experience includes colleges, libraries, museums, and major tap festivals where he shared the stage with some of the best tap dancers in the world.

Reggio was seen in two Duke Ellington musicals, “Beggars Holiday” and “Jump for Joy”. He did the theatre version of “The Sammy Davis Jr. Story” in Chicago. He has also appeared on Broadway.

Through Reggio’s charisma and expertise he has been invited to foreign countries such as Japan, Canada, Spain, Germany, Switzerland etc., contributing to the raising of tap dancing to a status of recognition and admiration.

Bril Barrett is a creative tap dancer, whose mission is to preserve and promote tap dance as a percussive art form, foster respect and admiration for the history and creators of tap, and continuously create opportunities for the art form and its practitioners.

Bril is the founder of M.A.D.D. (Making A Difference Dancing) Rhythms, Co-founder of M.A.D.D. Rhythms Canada, director of The Chicago Tap Summit and founder of The M.A.D.D. Rhythms Tap Academy. Performance opportunities include Riverdance, Tap Dance Kid, The St. Louis Tap Festival, The Calgary Tap Summit and many others. Bril has taught and/or performed in Canada, Germany, Finland, Turkey, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Albania, Amsterdam, and across the U.S. He has started many outreach programs in Chicago's public schools, Park districts and even a performing arts high school in Gary, Indiana.

Martin “Tré” Dumas III (Co-Artistic/Technical Director) - Tap dancing since age 8, this Chicago native is currently co-Artistic Director of M.A.D.D. Rhythms. Tré received his early dance (tap & jazz) training and his first teaching experience (at age 16) at Tommy Sutton’s “Mayfair Academy of fine Arts” on Chicago’s south side. He graduated from (HBC) Clark Atlanta University with a B.A. in Mass Media Arts with a concentration in Speech and Theatre Arts. In 1995 he played “Daddy Bates” in a national tour of Broadway's "The Tap Dance Kid" where he first encountered Bril Barrett. Together as two thirds of “Steppin’ Out” they performed at the St. Louis and Detroit Tap Festivals, and The Democratic National Convention among many other performance opportunities. He was featured in the North American, and European tours of “Riverdance” for three years. Tré later rejoined Bril, helping him develop his vision (of a lasting institution to train and create work for tap dancers in Chicago) into the internationally renowned company, M.A.D.D Rhythms. Most recently, Tré was a featured soloist portraying a fiery tap dancing preacher in “David Danced,” from director/chorographer Derick Grant’s “off broadway” tap musical extravaganza, Imagine Tap. He’s taught and performed extensively throughout the continental U.S., Canada and Germany as well as other parts of Europe, and South America. Aside from his beautiful daughter, Lauren, his greatest joy lies in dancing and sharing his love and knowledge of “the art-form” with others and receiving the same from his elders, peers and yes his students as well.

Jumaane Taylor (assistant director), a Chicago native, has been tap dancing for 13 years. He began his training at the Sammy Dyer School of the Theatre, where he now teaches. He has had the esteemed opportunity to perform and study with Derick Grant, Idella Reed Davis, Jimmy Payne Jr., Jay Fagan, George Patterson III, Jason Samuels Smith, Sarah Savelli and Ted Levy. Jumaane made his professional debut with the group M.A.D.D Rhythms, where he now serves as Artistic Director. Founded by Bril Barrett and co-directed by Martin Dumas III. Jumaane has performed and taught nationally and internationally. Some of his credits include the Chicago Tap Summit, St. Louis Tap Festival, Chicago Human Rhythm Project, L.A. Tap Fest and numerous shows with ETA Creative Arts Foundation. He was featured in Dance Spirit Magazine as "One of the Top 20 Hoofers under 20" and in 2000 he won 1st place in The 1st Annual Chicago Tap Off. Jumaane currently finished up a six week run with the new show Imagine Tap, directed and choregraphed by Derick Grant. Jumaane is committed to spreading his respect and passion for tap dance.

Originating from Calgary, Lisa La Touche is Founder and Artistic Director of M.A.D.D. Rhythms Canada. Her pursuits evolved from her studies across Canada and in Chicago, and New York City with influences derived from support and lessons of world renowned teachers. Her performance credits include a solo debut in Chicago in “M.A.D.D. Rhythms: Unplugged”, guest artist in Dance Chicago’s “Valentines Dances”, Vancouver International Tap Festival, the St. Louis Tap Festival, and the West Coast Tap Dance Collective in “The Spirit of Tap”. As a teacher, choreographer and adjudicator, Lisa has worked for countless dance schools, workshops/conventions and festivals across the North America. She teaches for the renowned Jazz company Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, and has been a featured choreographer in Dancers Studio West’s “Alberta Dance Explosions” 2004 and 2005, guest choreographer with Vancouver’s Urban Tap Squad, and Calgary’s Encorps Dance Collective. She has even worked at the international level guest teaching for “New York City Dance School”, and “Gluckerschule” both located in Stuttgart, Germany. Lisa’s recent collaboration with Bril Barrett developing the Calgary based “M.A.D.D Rhythms Canada” has lead her to great new heights in her tap dance endeavors. She has successfully produced numerous tap productions Calgary and recently just launched the 1st annual Calgary Tap Summit. Lisa works with many talented Canadian tap dancers working to achieve the goal of promoting and preserving the art of tap dance and bringing it to the next level.

Mr. Taps brings the unique American art form of tap dancing to life by showcasing the innovative flair of Fred Astaire and the fiery footwork of the legendary Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. And with his special, unique blend of soft core humor, he always leave his audience wanting more!

Mr. Taps had performed professionally over 25 years, an has taught tap classes for all ages throughout the country side. Appearances include:

The Apollo Theatre, New York
The Cotton Club Review, ABC Television
Warner Brothers Motion Picture, The Fugitive
The Harbor side Theatre, Ft. Myers, FL
Arie Crown Theatre, Chicago, Il
Bleeper and Blooper
The Dick Clark Show
National Television
The Clock Tower Theatre, Rockford, Il
Elementary Schools and Universities throughout the United States

Lee Howard is a 16 year old from Chicago,Illinois who attends the Whitney Young Magnet High School where he is an honor roll student. Six years ago, Lee began his study of tap dance at Sammy Dyer School of the Theatre with Idella Reed-Davis and Brill Barrett. Lee is currently a member of the M.A.D.D. Rhythms tap company where he has been a member for the past five years. Lee loves tap dancing because tap allows him to feel and express his creativity. Lee is also on staff at Studio One dance academy as a tap instructor. Lee’s performances credits include: M.A.D.D. Rhythms annual revues; Dance Chicago; Chicago’s Expo for Today’s Black Woman; ABC Channel 7 morning news; WGN morning news; City of Chicago Millennium Park Opening; Chicago African Festival; City of Chicago Daley Center performances; Chicago Human Rhythm Project Tap Festivals & shows; Chicago Museum for Contemporary Art Performance Series; Chicago International Salsa Congress; Bradley Tap Festival; St Louis Tap Festivals; New York City’s Tap City’s Tap Youth/Tap Future and Youth Showcase, L. A. Tap Festival and many more. Lee was awarded scholarships to attend the St Louis Tap Festival (04), New York’s Tap City (04,05) and Chicago Human Rhythm Project (02, 03, 04,05) to foster his study of tap dance. Lee was the Chicago Human Rhythm Project's 2004 Tap Off 1st place winner and second place soloist winner, 2005.

Starinah Dixon, better known as Star, was born and raised in Chicago. She started dancing at a very young age. Brought up into a dancing family including her mom who studied african dance, which she later also studied, it was no doubt that she would have a love for dance. She is the younger sister of Bril Barrett who started M.A.D.D. Rhythms where she is one of the original members of the six year running tap company. With M.A.D.D. Rhythms, she has performed all over the U.S. including The L.A. Tap Festival, The St. Louis Tap Festival, The Detroit Tap Festival, and Northern Illinois University. As well as performing, she also teaches and has been since the age of 16. Her teaching experience includes Alyo Children’s dance theater, Najwa, Chicago Park District, The Imani Dance Center, and the M.A.D.D. Rhythms Tap Academy. Besides M.A.D.D. Rhythms, she is currently dancing with a company called Matie Masie which does African, Hip-hop, and Jazz.

Jabowen Dixon a.k.a. Jaybo has been performing since the age of six. He began performing at student showcases and assemblys throughout the year at his grade school in downtown Chicago. From there, Jaybo began going to auditions and doing movies with his brother Bril, the combination of that, and the skills he had obtained from doing shows at school, is where Jaybo developed a love for the arts. At age 11 his mother enrolled him into Sundance studios, a local performing arts company. There he took his first African, Hip Hop, Carribean, and vocal classes. He continued to take classes there until he was 15. In late 2000, his brother Bril founded the group M.A.D.D. (making a difference dancing) Rhythms and recruited Jaybo and their younger sister Star to be in the group, that was Jaybo’s first real tap experience. Jaybo continues to dance and study with M.A.D.D.. Rhythms today. Now at age 22 Jaybo has appeared on Television [local news, so you think you can dance, etc..] Film [save the last dance, shall we dance etc.], and multiple shows across both the city country. Jaybo has also been featured in Dance Spirit magazine, ads for Leo’s Dancewear. He also teaches at some of the most prestigious dance studios in the city of Chicago.

Nico Rubio's bio is coming soon!