| REVIEWS
TAP CITY, THE NEW YORK CITY TAP FESTIVAL
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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TAP CITY ON TOUR
Tap City on Tour
Selected Reviews
HOUSTON COUNTY COURIER “As Waag said, “All tap dancers speak with their feet,” and the audience certainly heard the tap dance company’s “voices” as they tapped and clapped!”
Crockett, Texas. March 17, 2005
SANIBEL CAPTIVA ISLANDER “The show’s conclusion was a glorious sight to see and hear with so many happy people on stage as they tap danced intricate and well rehearsed steps. It was visually and musically a most professional production and was rewarded by thunderous applause from a most appreciative audience.”
Sanibel, Florida. Week of March 4 – 10th 2005
CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL
“By what I saw on the stage and in the halls, I’m encouraged to believe that the art form of tap dancing may be with us for quite some time to come.”
Rick Justice, January 23, 2006
READING EAGLE “Tap is the most musical of dance forms, creating its own percussive and even melodic effects– and, in the hands of artists such as these, even subtler expressive elements like crescendos and diminuendos.”
Kutztown, Pennsylvania. November 13, 2004
THE KEYSTONE “After two hours of electrifying dancing, Tap City had the 650 audience members tapping out of the auditorium, which is exactly the way it should be.”
Kutztown, Pennsylvania. November 18, 2004
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THE TAP CITY YOUTH ENSEMBLE
The Tap City Youth Ensemble
Selected Reviews
THE NEW YORK TIMES "…an expert group number by the Tap City Youth Ensemble…”
Jennifer Dunning
THE NEW YORK TIMES "the Tap City Youth Ensemble danced Mr. Cromer’s ‘Opus One’ to a Dorsey big-band recording with happy éclat.”
Alastair Macaulay
TIME OUT NEW YORK KIDS
“With the Youth Ensemble, [ATDF] has come full circle.”
Tony Waag
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THE AMERICAN TAP DANCE ORCHESTRA (1986-2000)
The
American Tap Dance Orchestra
Selected Reviews
THE CHICAGO SUN TIMES "The
American Tap Dance Orchestra lives up to its name. This enchanting
ensemble blends percussive sounds in a truly orchestral manner."
THE NEW YORK TIMES "Blends
rapid fire virtuosity and a wonderfully easygoing amiability"
THE VILLAGE VOICE "a
rhythm feast"
ATTITUDE DANCE MONTHLY "Tap
dancing has had its rebirth with the American Tap Dance Orchestra."
CHARLES "HONI" COLES
"The world is finally recognizing the only dance form
that is strictly American. Tap, Tap, Tap, and the ATDO, the
first of its kind ever, personifies the pinnacle of this art
form. Bravo, Tap Dance Orchestra."
MID OCEAN NEWS, BERMUDA The
ATDO's "... sizzling performance was proof that in their
hands -- or feet, perhaps -- this dance form has not only
been safely preserved, but has found rejuvenation."
DANCE PAGES "Brenda Bufalino,
Artistic Director of the American Tap Dance Orchestra, may
do for tap what Balanchine did for ballet, and Jack Cole did
for jazz." & "The American Tap Dance Orchestra
represents the future of tap. Bufalino's rhythmic, syncopated,
complex choreography will challenge tap dancers into the twenty
first century."
GLOUCESTER COUNTY TIMES "Each
number was performed with flair and emotion. The dancing was
poetic. The movement of each individual dancer was in step
wonderfully and performed with ease, style, grace and strength."
CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER "The
American Tap Dance Orchestra smoothly blended the rhythmic
excitement of a percussion recital with the entertainment
values of cabaret...the dancing was highly skilled and sophisticated.
But the dancers also communicated the infectious fun of tapping
purely for pleasure...with their fabulous feet, the dancers
produced a wide spectrum of tones, timbres and dynamics."
NEW YORK NEWSDAY "The
Dancers of the ATDO function as a true component of an orchestra,
making their work a fulfillment of one of the original motives
of tap dancing in which tapping can embody both rhythm and
melody."
PERFORMER CUES "This
is an exceptionally well rehearsed company and their ease
with themselves and each other in duets, trios, and group
dances allows them the freedom to interplay together and with
the audience in a bemused and nonchalant manner...this kind
of 'controlled abandon' is only possible if the choreography
and technique is 'down cold'."
ATTITUDE DANCE MONTHLY "The
American Tap Dance Orchestra...under the rhythmic baton of
Brenda Bufalino, presented a new vision and sound to tap dance,
transferring it from its century long form as a popular entertainment
to an art form for the concert stage.
BACK STAGE "The dancers
keep a high energy level throughout, and are crisp and clear
in their footwork."
DANCE MAGAZINE "Bufalino
and her ensemble are whizzes, and I find her choreography
remarkably inventive."
THE NEW YORK TIMES "The
American Tap Dance Orchestra is a relatively new kid on the
block, but it is clearly a kid with tap talent to spare, a
great love for the art and a good many ambitious ideas."
ATTITUDE DANCE MONTHLY "Their
unflagging energy, their zest, the wonderful rapport among
them all, elevates them above any other tap group around today
and elevates their performance into high artistry."
THE RICHMOND NEWS LEADER "All
the dancers execute the steps flawlessly.... Whether triple
tapping, sliding through a delicate soft shoe, tapping time
with the music or performing a cappella, there is never a
missed tap. Their enjoyment of performing is contagious."
THE CYPRESS WEEKLY "The
ensemble dancing was a revelation."
NOWA EUROPA/POLAND "For
a long time we haven't seen such an attractive spectacle performed
at an overwhelming speed...No gesture is copied and there
was no cheap showiness. Every shape had a meaning... In other
words, it was a happy evening for the Warsaw public, because
for the first time we had a chance to see what "real"
tap dance is."
THE VILLAGE VOICE "I
love it when the American Tap Dance Orchestra really plays
hard at being an orchestra--when the men and women come out
looking sharp in their black suits or their white suits and
concentrate on making delicious foot rhythms together... concentrates
on building rhythmic patterns into contrapuntal feasts-splitting
dancers off from unison into canon, splitting one group in
two for a hot bit of antiphony, having dancers feed into a
pattern until it sizzles with sound, popping a soloist out
and turning the background tapping down to a simmer."
THE RECORD "There's plenty
of precision dancing on the program, but there's also a large
helping of individual expression and experimentation."
ATTITUDE DANCE MONTHLY "The
best thing that's happening to tap dancing since Eleanor Powell."
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