Jazz Tap Ensemble

Artistic direction: Lynn Dally Fred Strickler and Camden Richman

Creation: 1979

The Jazz Tap Ensemble, America’s first touring tap dance company, was founded in 1979 by three dancers and three musicians who brought original tap choreography with live jazz to the concert stage.   Initially inspired by the great rhythm masters John Bubbles, “Baby” Laurence, “Honi” Coles as well as Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell, Gene Kelly, the varied modern dance backgrounds of the dancers and the diverse interests of the musicians, JTE’s vision of excellence, innovation, and collaboration, with a deep respect for the living masters, brought forth a repertory of virtuosity, wit, and deep musicality.

JAZZ TAP ENSEMBLE has been honored to present and share the stage with a pantheon of tap legends including Jimmy Slyde, Steve Condos, LaVaughn Robinson, Fayard Nicholas, Harold Nicholas, Charles “Honi” Coles, Eddie Brown, Brenda Bufalino, Dianne Walker, Savion Glover, and our beloved Gregory Hines. Based in Los Angeles, JTE has appeared in major concert halls in the U.S. and abroad including the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian, London’s Riverside Theatre, Paris’ Theatre de la Ville, Lyon’s Maison de la Danse, as well as NY’s Joyce Theater, Jacob’s Pillow, Spoleto USA, major first generation tap festivals across the U.S., and State Dept sponsored USIA tours of Southeast Asia and Latin America. Most recently, via DanceMotion USA, a US Department of State program, we embarked on a life changing one month tour of central and South Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Bulawayo and Harare, Zimbabwe) where real cultural exchange was able to happen daily with local artists, dancers and musicians, as well as disadvantaged youth in workshops, master classes, and concerts.

Performance highlights include Gregory Hines’ “Evening of Tap at Carnegie Hall,” “Dancing in the Streets” at the Apollo, Hollywood’s Playboy Jazz Festival, Salzburg’s 10th Annual JazzFest, Madrid’s Festival en Danza, and Lyon’s 4th Biennale, “An American Story.” TV and film credits include JTE Live in Concert (London), JTE with Honi Coles (San Francisco), and Christian Blackwood’s award winning documentary, “Tapdancin.” Recognized as leaders in the renaissance of tap dance in America, Artistic Director Lynn Dally and Jazz Tap Ensemble are well represented in Constance Valis Hill’s new history book, “Tap Dancing America.”

Source: Jazz Tap Ensemble ‘s website

More information: jazztapensemble.org