Tradition In Tap - Series’ The Song & Dance Tap Master, Skip Cunningham

Tradition In Tap - Series’ The Song & Dance Tap Master, Skip Cunningham

The workshop is scheduled to take place in New York City on Memorial Day
Weekend, May 23-25, 2009 (National Tap Dance Day weekend).

This workshop will feature traditional choreography taught by the master
himself, a special honorary tap classes by Dr. Prince Spencer of the legendary
‘Four Step Brothers’, and Honorary Master Classes by leading tap artists.

Faculty includes:
Skip Cunningham, Dr. Prince Spencer, Chloe Arnold, Ofer Ben, Ayodele Casel,
Melba Huber, Ted Levy, Avi Miller, Logan Miller, Yukiko ‘Smilie’ Misumi, Lainie
Munro, Prof. Robert L. Reed, Germaine Salsberg, Prof. Hank Smith and Shea
Sullivan.

The workshop will take place at Nola Studios in midtown Manhattan.

The Participants Showcase will take place on Saturday May 23, at Manhattan
Movement and Arts Center. See the website for guidelines and application form.

The workshop includes:
- Three days of intensive tap experience.
- Traditional Choreography taught by the 'Master' himself.
- Honorary Master Classes by leading tap artists.
- Participants Showcase.
- Tradition In Tap - Award Presentation.
- Tap History Talks.
- Video Presentation.
- Tap Technique.
- Related Events
- 'Dance Teacher Recognizes' certificate (For Teachers Only).

The workshop consists of 3 different programs:
- Two separate adult programs for intermediate, advanced and professional levels
(Adults, Teens 14+).
- Youth program for tappers age 10-13, exposing them to the genius of the
masters.


Tradition In Tap is proud to announce an expanded scholarship program, so that
more aspiring tap dancers may attend The Skip Cunningham Tap Experience.
Scholarships are made possible by funds granted by Private Donors through the
‘Sponsor A Tap Dancer’ program & The Tradition In Tap - Advisory Committee.
Please refer to the web site for more information and an application form.
If you are interested in becoming a personal sponsor to a tap dancer in need,
join our 'Sponsor A Tap Dancer' program and provide additional dancers with the
partial or full tuition for the workshop.

Great rates are now available on some of the nearby hotels. Refer to the website
for updates and links.

Extensive information is now available on the web site: www.TraditionInTap.org
The workshop’s poster will be sent out in few days - please be sure to update us
with your current mailing address.

Space is limited - register early!
Special group rates available – call for details.

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Bio:
Skip Cunningham is a tap dancer and master entertainer who has worked in
virtually every venue of the show business industry for his entire life. He has
been featured on dozens of television shows including the Steve Harvey Show, the
Smothers Brothers, Sanford and Son, the Richard Pryor Show, and the Merv Griffin
Show where he appeared as a guest artist 32 times.

On Broadway he was featured performer in Eubie, Golden Boy, George M! and
Evolution of the Blues. Working with directors Francis Ford Cuppola, Nick Castle
and Richard Brooks he was featured in the movies The Cotton Club, Tap, and I'll
Do Anything. He has worked as an actor/singer/dancer in theatre such as the
Drury Lane in Chicago and the Sacramento Civic Light Opera. He has worked in
nightclubs on every continent from Australia and the Philippines to Europe,
England, Japan, South America, and of course the U.S. As a tap dancer and
teacher he has been featured at many jazz and tap festivals all over the U.S and
Israel.

Born in Chicago on April 24, 1936 Skip's first dance teacher/mentor was the
venerable Sadie Bruce. By the age of ten, he had already interacted on stage in
some of Chicago's top theatres with the great band leaders Noble Sissle and
Walter Dyett. As a child, he won almost every contest he was involved in and
this encouraged him to choose show business as a career.

After serving in the United States army, he joined the Billy Williams revue
which took him to Las Vegas and the Riviera Hotel and many other famous
nightclubs in the U.S. When night clubs were king, Skip honed his craft in the
best of them around the world.

He has shared the stage with the likes of Lionel Hampton, Pearl Bailey, Louis
Armstrong, Ray Charles, Merv Griffin, Johnny Carson, Donald O'Connor, Joan
Crawford, Regis Philbin, Nat King Cole, Steve Harvey, Gregory Hines, Sammy Davis
Jr., Cab Calloway, Bill Cosby, Redd FoxX, Flip Wilson, The Four Tops, The
Temptations, Ed Sullivan, Francis Ford Coppola, and many more. He has worked
with many famous musicians: Clark Terry, Doc Severensen, Milt Hinton, Ray Brown,
James Moody, and many more. Interacting with these famous personalities shaped
Skip's career, making him the consummate entertainer that he is.

As a tap master Skip has been awarded the Chicago Human Rhythm Project Juba
award, Rhythm Tap Hall of Fame Master Tapper Award, and the LA Tap Festival
Leonard Reed Longevity Award, to name a few.

Skip's long and varied career has made him one of our last great song and dance
men.