| REVIEWS
TAP CITY, THE NEW YORK CITY TAP FESTIVAL
Tap City 2008
Selected Reviews
THE NEW YORK TIMES "Generations and Genres Mix at a Tap-Dance Party”
"Sparkling performances”
Gia Kourlas
DANCE MAGAZINE/DANCE MEDIA.COM "now the new generation is made up of every race, nationality, and gender—and so was the audience at Tap City”
Wendy Perron
THE STAR LEDGER "fabulous mix of generations and aesthetics.....spectacular dancing and inventive choreography"
"Wherever audiences see the Tap City block sign, they know they're bound to have a good time."
Robert Johnson
EXPLOREDANCE.COM “The eighth New York City Tap Festival, produced by Tony Waag, filled Symphony Space, July 8-11 with joyous audiences, and a cast of headliners from the past and present."
Marion Horosko
Tap City 2007
Selected Reviews
THE NEW YORK TIMES "always breezy, hard dancing fun" "Tony Waag, the founder of the festival, is the most genial and relaxed of hosts, a slightly melancholic blithe spirit who overcame the usual odds of dance presenting…”
Jennifer Dunning
DANCE MAGAZINE " …rocked like never before.” " …put skill, musicality, and heart front and center.” "…it’s so easy when you know how.”
Eva Yaa Asantewaa
DANCEREVIEWTIMES " Tony Waag inserted a number for himself—his flair for the venerable art of song and dance never better…” " …his rich, breathy baritone brought us almost to tears. Pure understated melancholy.”
Sali Ann Kriegsman
THE NEW YORK TIMES “Style triumphed over mere technique and concept here, with one terrific act and soloist following another, building to mid-show standing ovations and a final jubilant roar from the audience”
Jennifer Dunning
THE STAR LEDGER “Producer Tony Waag reminds the tap community and its admirers just how far they’ve come and how far they still can go by working together”
Robert Johnson
Tap City 2006
Selected Reviews
BACKSTAGE.COM “What a pleasure it was to bask in the easy rhythms of tuneful old standards played with poise and sensitivity by a terrific trio led by a female drummer, Bernice ‘Boom Boom’ Brooks. Equally delightful was the opportunity to watch seasoned performers who deal in subtlety, nuance, and gentle, kind delivery of their artistic messages…”
Lisa Jo Sagolla
TIME OUT NEW YORK KIDS “…each summer, dancers, students and avid fans from around the world flock to New York’s Tap City festival to see the latest takes on this ever-evolving dance form.”
"Launched in 2001 by Tony Waag, American Tap Dance Foundation’s (ATDF) executive director, the fest features performances, classes and film screenings that embrace both tradition and innovation.”
Eva Yaa Asantewaa
THE NEW YORK TIMES "Tap dancing goes global” " …the spirited, warmhearted evening emphasized choreographed routines in a traditionally improvised, idiosyncratic art form.”
Jennifer Dunning
THE STAR-LEDGER “Tap City shows that the dance form is alive and very healthy.” "Tony Waag, the organizer of the Tap City! festival, seems intent on destroying audiences’ preconceptions about tap dancing.” " …seemingly endless store of wonders to share.”
Robert Johnson
Tap
City 2005
Selected Reviews
THE
NEW YORK TIMES " Tap City is a jovial affair
that wastes little time getting to the goods."
Gia
Kourlas
THE
NEW YORK TIMES "A joyful summer thunderstorm
of busy, happy feet"
Gia
Kourlas
THE
VILLAGE VOICE "showbiz-hot and pomo cool"
Deborah
Jowitt
NEWSDAY
"Truly stellar turns...intriguing explorations
taking tap into new areas"
Susan
Reiter
THE
VILLAGE VOICE "tap family reunion...nostalgic...charming...gratifying"
Eva
Yaa Asantewa
DAILY
NEWS "makes New York the center of the tap-dance
universe"
David
Hinckley
DAILY
NEWS "Anyone who thinks tap is a curiosity
from Fred Astaire movies just hasn't been listening."
David
Hinckley
NEW
YORK POST "annual tradition.an unexpected
and interesting change of pace."
Clive
Barnes
THE
STAR-LEDGER "Tap takes a step up"
Robert
Johnson
THE
NEW YORK TIMES "a happy-go-lucky affair with
some surprises every year, with the irrepressible Mr.
Waag, hovering over it all like a tap-dancing uncle."
Jennifer
Dunning
THE
ASSOCIATED PRESS " Tap City showcases the form's
dazzling variety"
Claudia
La Rocco
THE
WESTSIDER "potpourri of tap styles"
Hilary
Ostlere
GAY
CITY "proved the widening horizon for a long
popular dance form"
Lori
Ortiz
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Tap
City 2004
Selected Reviews
DANCE
MAGAZINE “summer lovefest…omnibus
shows….hotter than July”
Eva Yaa Asantewa
THEATER
SCENE “a nostalgic tribute to the greats
of Tap Dance and a reminder of how valuable and cherished
this dance form should be in our culture.”
Jeannie Lieberman
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Tap City
2003
Selected Reviews
THE
NEW YORK TIMES “The dancers’ individual
styles, the relaxed staging and the genial patter of
the tapmeister Tony Waag, who organizes this annual
festival, showed that this distinctively American art
form not only has a history but is alive and well in
all its improvisational glory.”
Jennifer Dunning
BACK
STAGE “Waag sets the festival’s
overall tone of inclusiveness and respect—every
imaginable style of tap dance was represented by performers
who come in all colors, ages, and nationalities.”
Lisa Jo Sagolla
THE
VILLAGE VOICE “All ages, all races, all
genders—in love with the glorious sound of metal
on wood.”
Deborah Jowitt
THE
STAR LEDGER “Old time hoofers and youthful
innovators contribute to art form’s growing global
vitality” “each artist gave it his or her
own spin, joining in an astonishing group improvisation
that made the floorboards clatter with the creativity
of an art form that is thriving.”
Robert Johnson
FINANCIAL
TIMES “big tap names and some not so
well known, entertained an audience who participated
with claps, calls and snapping fingers.”
Hilary Ostlere
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Tap
City 2002
Selected Reviews
NEW
YORK TIMES “Tap is a dance language known
around the world. That message clattered forth joyfully
…transcended cultural boundaries.”
Jack Anderson
NEWARK
STAR LEDGER “… it wants to give
you a big, warm hug. Wise dance lovers will not shrink
from its loving embrace when the festival returns in
2003.”
Robert Johnson
VILLAGE
VOICE “After his second successful year
as producer, Tony Waag can confidently call New York
Tap City.”
Eva Yaa Asantewaa
VILLAGE
VOICE “… the tap community –
dropping in from as far afield as Japan and Slovakia
– converged for classes, performances, and special
events, delighting some of the warmest dance crowds
I’ve ever seen.”
Eva Yaa Asantewaa
VILLAGE
VOICE “Public events at the Duke on 42nd
Street reflected racial, cultural, generational, physical,
and stylistic diversity that much of the dance world
would do well to emulate. Shows celebrated tap’s
history, its worldwide reach, and the influence on choreographic
fancy of everything from postmodernism and social satire
to classical music and Latin jazz.”
Eva Yaa Asantewaa
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Tap City 2001
Selected
Reviews
NEW
YORK TIMES “Old tap and the new team
up with affection... New York may once again be home
to tap...”
Jennifer Dunning
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS “Clickety-click...Tap
still puts its best foot forward... (O)ld-timers...work
alongside a new generation... (Savion) Glover, a wondrous
dancer and magnetic personality...weaves tap into hip
hop... explores new frontiers...”
David Hinckley
NEWARK
STAR-LEDGER “... sheer excitement of
the New York City Tap Festival... offered spectacular
performances... heart-stealing lineup of youngsters...
sheer razzle dazzle...“
Robert Johnson
NEW
YORK POST “a mother lode of talent”
Barbara Hoffman
THE
NEW YORKER “... a phalanx of tappers,
both obscure and illustrious... converging on the City
for workshops, jams and performances... “
Michael Kupperman
THE
JOURNAL NEWS “Festival kicks up its heels…”
Mary Shustack
NEW
YORK “…the Stomp cast will be sulking
as Tap City 2001 steals their fan base for a week...
“
Christopher Bonanos
VILLAGE
VOICE “New York City Tap Festival converges
on midtown... as several generations of stars line up
to perform and teach... a brilliant patchwork.”
Voice Choices
NEW
YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS “Thanks to Tony Waag
and Gregory Hines, New York City will host its own festival...
not just for tap dancers, but for everyone.”
Charmaine Warren
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