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

Back to top

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

Back to top

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

Back to top

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

Back to top

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

Back to top

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

Back to top

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

Back to top

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."

Back to top