News: The St. Louis Tap Festival Turns 19
The 19th annual St. Louis Tap Festival, July 26–31, will include master workshops, tap jams and a panel discussion at the Sheraton Hotel in Clayton, Missouri. Participants of all ages are welcome to perform in a showcase at the University of Missouri–St. Louis on Friday. The “All That Tap” show on Saturday will feature the festival’s guest artists and teachers, including Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, Max Pollak and Germaine Salsberg.
“The point of our festival is to allow tappers to find their voice, and the teachers who I bring in are not just teaching steps, but how to really dance and be a musician with your feet,” says Professor Robert L. Reed, tap teacher, performer and founder of the St. Louis Tap Festival.
Gene GeBauer, former Broadway performer and founder of the University of Iowa tap program, will be honored. And Dr. Jeni LeGon, one of the first African American female tap soloists, is the festival’s special guest. “These wonderful people need to be recognized, even though they may not be in the limelight as they once were,” says Reed. “They’re still going, and they continue to pass along the joy of tap dancing.” For more: www.tapheritage.org
—Rachel Zar
Photo of Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards teaching class, courtesy of St. Louis Tap Festival.
