Winter Tap JAMboree hits Chicago in February

The Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP), celebrating 25 years as the nation’s premier presenter of American tap dance and international contemporary percussive arts, welcomes students and performers to its annual Winter Tap JAMboree on February 13-15, 2015.

The JAMboree will feature master classes, auditions for the Tap Scholar Program and Nicholas Young’s Institute For The Rhythmic Arts (IFTRA), a panel discussion and several Tap JAMs at the American Rhythm Center, Chicago’s collaborative arts space in the historic Fine Arts Building, located at 410 S. Michigan Ave. in Suite 300.

Among those teaching classes are guests Cartier Williams, a leading tap choreographer and protégé of Savion Glover, and Nicholas Young, who received a 2014 New York Dance and Performance Award (“Bessie”) for Outstanding Music Composition, along with some of Chicago’s finest, including CHRP Founder/Director Lane Alexander—who recently received a Tap Legacy Award while performing with Rhapsody in Taps in Los Angeles—and Bril Barrett, Martin Bronson, Zada Cheeks, Matt Crowle, Starinah Dixon, Nico Rubio and hip-hop/break dancer Monty Rezell.

The weekend opens on Friday, February 13 with a Welcome Party at 7 p.m., followed by a Tap JAM hosted by M.A.D.D. Rhythms. Classes for teens and adults take place Saturday, February 14 from 10 a.m. to 6:20 p.m. and Sunday, February 15 from 10 a.m.-3:50 p.m. Faculty members will participate in a panel discussion on a topic to be determined Saturday, February 14 from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. The weekend will conclude with a Tap JAM Sunday, February 15 from 4 to 5 p.m.

Plus, CHRP is offering up to $10,000 in tuition awards to dancers between the ages of 12 and 18 who compete in its annual Tap Scholarship Auditions on Saturday, February 14 at 7 p.m. These scholarships will make it possible for deserving young tap dancers to attend CHRP’s 25th Anniversary Rhythm World, the preeminent festival of American tap, taking place July 6-August 2, 2015, with a faculty of more than 25 master teachers/performers from around the globe. Participants must register for at least one Tap JAMboree class.

On Sunday, February 15, students may audition for Nicholas Young’s Institute For The Rhythmic Arts (IFTRA), returning to Rhythm World after its debut in 2014. IFTRA is a three-week intensive integrating foot, hand and body percussion led by STOMP alumnus Nicholas Young, master percussionists John Angeles and Doug Feig, Lane Alexander, percussive artist Jumaane Taylor and more.

Master classes for the Winter Tap JAMboree are $20 per class, plus a $15 registration fee. Tap Scholarship Audition registration is $15; IFTRA Audition registration is $15. To register, visit chicagotap.org. The Tap JAMs on Friday, February 13 and Sunday, February 15 and the panel discussion on Saturday, February 14 are free to registrants. All events will take place at the American Rhythm Center in Chicago.

Image courtesy of Chicago Human Rhythm Project.