- The 7th Australian Tap Dance Festival opens this weekend in Melbourne under the direction of tap dancer Winston Morrison. I’ll be heading down to get a piece of the action!
(Photo- Winston Morrison in a Commonwealth Bank Campaign)
Tap festivals in Barcelona, Stockholm, Paris and around the world have been on the up over the past decade. But what’s going on in Australia? Winston Morrison is putting Melbourne on the tap map. This 7th annual festival running 29th September until the 6th October is promising to be the best yet.
Masterclasses, tap for beginners, a cutting content (tap dance battle), a tap jam and several tap talks will take place between 29th September and 5th October with a Gala performance on Saturday 6th.
As well as Winston, teachers include the fabulous Melinda Sullivan (USA), Shane Preston (Tap Dogs) and Bill Simpson (Red Hot Rhythm) and other talented tappers.
Bill Simpson
A free beginners class open to the public at 12:45- 1:45pm on Sunday 1st October.
The classes and events will be held at Jason Coleman’s Ministry of Dance in North Melbourne and the gala at Irving Hall in Armadale.
As well of tap dancers (from beginners to professionals) able to taking a mix of classes, the wonderful thing about this festival is the repertoire class, where dancers work with choreographers for five days on a routine they will perform at the gala and be able to keep it in the pockets (as we say in tap).
I’ll be heading to the tap jam and and taking rep. class with Melinda Sullivan to pick up some tips and work on a routine from this incredibly accomplished dancer (in the company of some wonderful Australian professionals).
I’ll also jump into a class with Winston (then convince him to come back and perform with us in Paris some time). I had the pleasure of working with Winston in Parisian Rendez Vous and seeing his dedication and passion for tap develop over the years has been wonderful (below is a scene set at the Paris Tap Jam).
Stay tuned for updates on instagram and sign up to our newsletter to be notified when our video is up. It will be short and sharp but to get a feel about what a tap festival is all about, here’s my mini doco from Tap On Barclona in 2011!
Know anyone in Melbourne who would like 10% off the festival show tickets? Head to www.playthefloor.com, pick your seats and use code: RUBYTV at checkout to receive your discount! Valid for this week only.
