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A Global Circuit of Tap Dance Festivals

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Many of you might have already seen the recently released TED Talk by Tap Legacy™ co-founder Andrew Nemr. In his talk, Andrew points to evidence of the flourishing global tap dance scene today. This included seeing tap dance featured in popular music concerts, major theatrical shows on Broadway, the awarding of a tap dancer with a MacArthur Genius Award, and the global circuit of tap dance festivals. While members of the live studio audience were witness to a slide that included a sampling of the many festivals currently running, the edited video didn’t give the slide much screen time.

We want to be sure that everyone can see how many organizations are currently doing the work of sharing the art of tap dance through practical education, performance, and community engagement. Above, you will see the slide that was included in the original talk, and below is a list, with links to each organization.

We want to thank each organizer who gave us the permission to use their logo in this talk. While this is still only a sampling (yes, there are even more festivals than what is listed below), we can clearly see the reach and breadth of the global tap festival phenomenon.

From Right to Left, top to bottom:

Notable exclusions from the slide (we didn’t receive permission in time to use their logos in the talk) include the Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s Rhythm World, the Los Angeles Tap Festival, the Tokyo International Tap Festival, and the Vancouver International Tap Festival.

As mentioned above, so many festivals are part of the current tap dance scene. Do you know of a festival that used to be produced or is currently running that isn’t listed here? Put the name of the festival in the comments for everyone to see, and be sure to include the organizer(s)!

Digital Archive Prototype Unveiled during TED Talk

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This past summer, Tap Legacy co-founder Andrew Nemr spoke at the TED Resident’s Salon, the final event for the inaugural class of TED Residents. Each resident presented an idea that was central to their project. While working on development of the Tap Legacy Digital Archive during the residency, Andrew’s talk, presented while he tap danced, centered around the idea of tap dance as oral tradition. Andrew shared personal stories, the unique attributes of oral traditions, the challenges oral traditions like tap dance face during times of cultural shift, and a possible solution.

TED Resident's Salon, July 12, 2016, New York, NY. Photo: Ryan Lash / TED
Tap Legacy Board Member Michael Jagger and Tap Legacy Digital Archive collaborator Mike Thibault at the TED Resident’s Salon, July 12, 2016, New York, NY. Photo: Ryan Lash / TED

Oral traditions are rooted in cultural identity, the stories of a people, and the traditions, activities, and rituals that embody those stories. Institutional support is primarily designed for preservation, not the support of an ongoing oral tradition. However, during times of cultural shift the continuity of unsupported oral traditions can be endangered. Tap Legacy™ has been working on a solution that would fill the gap between well established institutions and a community’s oral traditions.

Andrew Nemr speaks at TED Resident's Salon, July 12, 2016, New York, NY. Photo: Ryan Lash / TED
Andrew Nemr speaks at TED Resident’s Salon, July 12, 2016, New York, NY. Photo: Ryan Lash / TED

At the end of his talk, Andrew unveiled a prototype of the Tap Legacy Digital Archive platform. Developed in collaboration with Michael Thibault, the platform will feature timeline, graphic data visualization, and community engagement functionality. The prototype is a working model that envisions all the functionality of the Digital Archive currently in development.

If your interested in learning more about this initiative sign-up for our newsletter or contact us directly.

We’re Building a Map!

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A few weeks ago you may have seen this announcement on our Facebook page or twitter feed. If you missed it, the Tap Legacy™ Foundation was awarded a grant from the Awesome Without Borders chapter of the Awesome Foundation. That’s a lot of awesome. Thanks to their support we’re developing a new special resource for the tap dance community: We’re building a map!

This isn’t your ordinary map. We’re partnering with Traces, and using the same technology that powers Pokemon Go, to bring the rich history of New York City to life. Imagine walking through the city when you receive a notification that you’re in the vicinity of tap dance history, literally. You follow directions to the exact location and once you arrive are able to explore stories, pictures, or videos, that highlight the historical significance of where you are standing.

Tap dance has long been a part of New York City’s geography, an integral part of the jazz and theatre scenes. Over time, though, much tap dance’s amazing history has been lost amidst NYC’s ever-changing cultural landscape. Now we can bring some of it back to life for everyone to experience!

Call to Action

We’re asking members of our community to submit important locations that you feel should be included in the map. We don’t want to miss anything! These locations could be rehearsal halls, venues that hosted tap jams, theaters and night clubs historically important to tap dance, or other important locations.

Use this form to submit a location.

Tap Legacy™ at the TED Residency

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You might have seen this announcement a few months ago, but if you missed it, we wanted to let you know about some very exciting news. Our co-founder, Andrew Nemr, was recently awarded a TED Residency. As part of the inaugural class of residents, Andrew will be spending his time developing the Tap Legacy™ Digital Archive. The vision of the archive is unique in its effort to reflect the oral tradition of tap dance in the digital space. Andrew is currently working with anthropologists, sociologists, big data scientists, programmers, and experts in the field of oral history to develop a platform that will serve to bring to greater light the rich history of tap dance and related vernacular dances.

As part of the residency, Andrew will also be giving a TED Talk on the underlying idea of oral tradition as way of remembering. Unfortunately the event is not open to public, nor will it be live-streamed. However, we will be sharing the talk here once it is published online.

About TED
TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world.

We’ve Got a New Logo!

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If you’ve been a fan of the Tap Legacy™ Foundation, and recently visited our website, you might have noticed something different. Along with the new site, a concise set of streamlined initiatives, we unveiled an updated logo.

Designed in 2002 to by artist Scean Mitchell, the Tap Legacy logo has indeed stood the test of time. However, while updating the website, we thought we’d revisit it, too. Taking feedback that we’ve received in the past and looking towards our future, we collaborated with artist Reggie Black, inspirational engineer and current TED Resident, on an update.

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By maintaining the key elements that have made our logo timeless – the shape of the stamp, the typeface itself – while making simple updates we hold true to the Tap Legacy™ Foundation’s values of holding fast to that which has informed who we are while advancing with the needs of the community today.

We’re really happy with the new look, and we hope you like it, too!

Stompology Recap

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This past weekend a miniature version of the Tap Legacy Exhibit traveled to Rochester, NY to be showcased at Stompology, an event focused on solo vernacular jazz dance including performances, competitions, classes, and social dances.

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The exhibit drew lots of attention from event participants as they discovered a series of rare curated images from the Tap Legacy Digital Archive. It’s important for rare images from the documented history of American vernacular dances to be brought to light and made accessible to the largest audience possible. You can be a part of making this happen by bringing the Tap Legacy Exhibit to your event or venue.

For information about how you can get involved, contact us.