For Immediate Release

Contact Audrey Ross at: AudreyRossPub@aol.com

Or call: (212) 877-3399

AMERICAN TAP DANCE FOUNDATION

presents

 

'SOUND CHECK'

A New Tap Dance Concert Series

 

February 12, 13, 19 & 20, 2009 at 8 PM

Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South

Tickets: $25; seniors, students, children under 12: $12.50

Reservations: 800-838-3006 or www.atdf.org/tix.htm

 

Benefit Performance, Wednesday February 18 at 7 PM

Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South

Tickets: performance only, $35; performance and Meet the Artists reception following, $100)

Reservations: 646-230-9564 or www.atdf.org/tix.htm

 

Check out 'SOUND CHECK,' the innovative new tap dance series presented by Tony Waag and American Tap Dance Foundation, five evenings in February.    Judson Memorial Church, long recognized as the home of early modern dance in New York City, will once again host a new and refreshing series - this time with young and established tappers in all new works.   Participating dancers and/or choreographers are some of the brightest tappers on the scene today: Christopher Scott, Katherine Kramer, Lanzallamas, Joshua Hilberman, Brenda Bufalino, Barbara Duffy, Ryan Kasprzak, Brent McBeth, Derek Roland, Michela Marino-Lerman, and Max Pollak.

 

Programs:

Thursday February 12 -

Christopher Scott and Katherine Kramer

'W-L-U-V' - Tune in to W-L-U-V and behold three pairs of the hottest young tap talents work out the rhythms of love to a smooth radio DJ spining your favorite platters!  Director/choreographer Christopher Scott is joined by Kendrick Jones, Michela Marino-Lerman, Baakari Wilder, Carson Murphy, Melinda Sullivan, and Camille Gaston as DJ Max Love 

   and

'STOP LOOK LISTEN' - A fusion of tap and contemporary dance choreographed by Katherine Kramer to an original score performed by "Lanzallamas" moving alongside the quartet of dancers.  The hybrid "Afro-Brazilian-Gypsy" score propels the performers as they become a band of adventurers on a playful journey.

 

Friday February 13

Joshua Hilberman and Brenda Bufalino

'HEELING POWERS: RHYTHMS OF THE LEFT BRAIN' -  Tap soloist Joshua Hilberman draws on his restless imagination for this one-man tour-de-force with his 20-year collaborator, pianist Paul Arslanian.    A one-man band, improvisational virtuoso, filmmaker, choreographer, and vaudevillian, Hilberman presents tap dance past, present and future.

   and

'PRIMORDIAL MEMORIES' - The wandering tap dance-nature poet Brenda Bufalino's work is a dance of renewal, weaving the sinuous, ecstatic shapes and sounds of nature into organic counter-rhythms.   Special guest performers include the Tap City Youth Ensemble.

 

Thursday February 19

Barbara Duffy and Ryan Kasprzak, Brent McBeth, Derek Roland

'STAGES' - with direction by Tony Stevens and choreography by Barbara Duffy, Barbara Duffy & Company incorporates song, dance, dialogue and improvisation into an evening of high-energy entertainment.   'Stages' touches upon issues to which everyone can relate - love, friendship, self-doubt and the courage to express one's true identity

   and

'TIME STEP' - directed by Mark Lonergan and choreographed by Ryan Kasprzak, Brent McBeth, and Derek Roland, New York's Parallel Exit company presents a dance that blends tap, rhythm, and physical comedy.   Fresh, funny, and filled with moments of visual magic, 'Time Step' pushes tap into a new direction.

 

Friday February 20

Michela Marino-Lerman and Max Pollak

'TAPSPLOITATION' - Marino-Lerman has created a story tap dance that follows a young man and woman on their journey through the streets of an American city to the jungles of Vietnam, on a search for information and understanding

   and

'RUMBATAP' - Max Pollak, named one of "25 to Watch in 2007" by Dance Magazine, was an innovator in merging American Rhythm Tap with authentic Afro-Cuban music and dance.   The multi-talented, international cast of RumbaTap dancers and musicians will capture the electricity and power of Pollak's 'Orquesta.'

 

ONE NIGHT ONLY - ATDF BENEFIT - Wed, February 18,  7PM

'TAKE IT TO THE STAGE!'

A benefit to support ATDF's Gregory Hines Youth Scholarship Fund and ongoing education programs.   ATDF is committed to continuing the vision of Gregory Hines, a Board Member and supporter of ATDF since its inception, of nurturing young talent.   ATDF is able to offer scholarships to many students on the basis of need and talent.   The evening will feature guest artists, new choreography, new faces, new programs, and the irresistable Tap City Youth Ensemble.

(tickets for this event are $35 for performance only (7 PM) and $100 for the performance followed by Meet the Artists Reception).

www.atdf.org