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She has worked with Brenda Bufalino, Lynn Dally, Michelle Dorrance, Barbara Duffy, Katherine Kramer, Max Pollak, Lynn Schwab, and Tony Waag, among others.

Her documentary, Thinking On Their Feet: Women of the Tap Renaissance, explores the work of women who resurrected and revolutionized the art of American tap dance and continue to pioneer the field. She has a BA in English and MFA in Dance, both from The Ohio State University.

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He first gained recognition as one of the founding members of the world-renowned tap company M.A.D.D. Rhythms, and has since been featured on the cover of The New York Times, NBC’s The Today Show, and at venues across the U.S., including halftime for the Chicago Bulls. His credits span film, national campaigns, and live performance.

Now, Ja’Bowen is expanding beyond dance and into deeper creative expression — merging sound, story, movement, and social commentary into work that invites both individual clarity and collective elevation.

His latest project, “Potential Energy,” blends tap, original music production, and spoken word to explore personal and cultural awakening.

As he continues to evolve as an artist, Ja’Bowen is shifting from being known solely as a tap dancer to being recognized as a full-spectrum creator — one using his voice and vision to help us operate in the highest version of ourselves.

Class Description
Step into the rhythm and expand your exploration of tap dance in this high-energy intermediate/advanced class. Designed for dancers with a strong foundation, this class explores the full range of tap dance—from classic technique to contemporary fusion.

Each class begins with dynamic warm-ups to activate the body and mind, sharpening pattern recognition, musicality, and memory. Strength-building footwork and rhythm drills develop clarity, speed, and control, while freestyle segments encourage personal expression and improvisational confidence.

Rooted in traditional tap dance vernacular but always pushing boundaries, we blend old-school flavor with new-school innovation—challenging dancers to explore, connect, and evolve their voice through rhythm. Whether you’re training for the stage or just refining your edge, this class offers a space to grow, groove, and dig deep.

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Class Description
Jessica’s tap class focuses on musicality, intricate footwork, and developing the technique to advance and maintain skills. Her style ranges from evoking the 1930s-40s movie musical era to exploring the musicality of modern artists. It has been described as “classic Broadway meets contemporary rhythm.” Class consists of a warm-up, technique exercises, and a fun, challenging combination. Jessica nurtures a supportive, community-over-competition atmosphere that gives you tools to succeed and a cushion if you stumble. She will meet you where you are and guide you to your next step (quite literally!) with a lot of laughs along the way.

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Being her country’s leading tap dancer Melissa has performed as a soloist all around Mexico in festivals and venues like Festival Internacional Santa Lucia, Guadalajara Tap Festival, Monterrey’s Tap Live Concert, Día De La Mujer San Pedro GG, TEDx Talks, Jazzatlán Capital, Casa Franca, to name a few.

As an educator, she has taught workshops in Paris, London, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Madrid, Bogota, Guadalajara, Cancun and Mexico City. She is also the producer of Oye Como Va and My Favorite Things, two of the first tap shows in Latin America featuring the best tap artists in Mexico as well as international dancers.

Melissa recently moved to New York City to evolve her career as an artist. This has allowed her to be in works by some of today’s greats: Dormeshia’s Tap Collective (The Joyce Theater), Love Movement with Michela Marino Lerman (The Joyce Theater), Tap Family Reunion with Derick Grant, Dormeshia and Jason Samuel Smith and The Solidarity Series with Christina Carminucci. She also recently made her debut at the renowned The Jazz Gallery with her free world music band: Praesens.

“Tap dance has introduced me to amazing music, improvisation, cultures and people that have inspired me to see and live life in a beautiful way. Through improvisation I’ve been able to dive deep into myself to search for what I have to say as an artist and human being. It has made me want to always keep learning, evolving and creating.”

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As an educator, Tommy is on faculty at Steps on Broadway, New York University, the Joffrey Ballet School, and OneBeat Dance Brands. He has been a guest instructor for Operation: Tap, Sarah Reich’s Tap Music Project, The Institute for American Musical Theatre, Dance Masters of America, Tap the Map, and dance schools across the United States. Tommy was selected as a choreographer for the 2025 Tap Dance Project with Dance Lab New York and is an alumnus of the University of Missouri – St. Louis and the School at Jacob’s Pillow.

Class Description
Tommy’s tap class provides a well-rounded experience of strengthening your tap technique, learning about musicality, and exploring your individual artistry. He prioritizes an “open floor” policy, encouraging students to share their thoughts, breakthroughs, and questions with the room to allow for a unified learning experience. You can expect fun challenges like counting as you dance, playing a polyrhythm, and syncopation exercises that challenge your musical brain. A small piece of choreography will be taught that encapsulates the topics covered during class. He loves to bring new music into the classroom that he is inspired by at the moment. Join Tommy today to strengthen your skills, prepare for an upcoming audition, and develop your voice as a tap dancer!

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As a solo tap dancer, Yuka has performed at venues such as the Blue Note, Birdland, Bryant Park, Levon Helm Studios, and South by Southwest (SXSW), one of the world’s biggest film, interactive media, and music festivals. Other career highlights include performing for the Colbert Report and performing at Jazz at Lincoln Center orchestrated by Wynton Marsalis with choreography by Jared Grimes. In April 2024, Yuka created the band Secret Drive with veteran pianist Chris Swan. Secret Drive has become a crowd favorite in the New York City music scene with their original blend of swing, funk, and R&B. They recently packed the world-famous Arthur’s Tavern for both sets of their debut appearance

Yuka is a graduate of the CUNY Graduate Center, where she majored in Music Performance and Dance. Yuka studied closely under the mentorship of Ryan Keberle, hailed in the Jazz Times International Critics Poll as the #1 Trombonist, a player “of vision and composer” according to The New York Times. She believes extensively studying music helps her become a better musician/tap dancer.

Class Description
In Yuka’s class, students will not only learn the basic vocabulary of tap dance, but also experience a variety of rhythms using simple steps. Students will work on developing a strong fundamental technique as well as musicality.

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As a choreographer, Sydney has had the honor of presenting works at Choreographer’s Carnival NYC, Battery Dance Fest, OC Tap Festival, Steps Beyond Foundation, Arts On Site, Rhythm in Motion, and more. Her passion for storytelling through movement is the drive behind her tap company “Elements of Sound” which she founded in 2022. Most recently, Sydney became a finalist for the 2025 DEC Choreographers Cup, in which she is presenting a collaborative work of contemporary and tap dance. She is an Artist in Residence at The American Tap Dance Foundation, a 2017 YoungArts Silver award winner, a 2018 Presidential Scholar in the Arts semi-finalist, an alumnus of the Jacob’s Pillow Tap Program, and co-founder of the Orlando Tap Festival.

Sydney is an inspiring and dedicated teacher who loves connecting with dancers through choreography and private lessons. She travels throughout the U.S. and abroad as a guest teacher and choreographer for dance studios, tap festivals, and intensives. Sydney is on faculty at Steps on Broadway, Broadway Dance Center, Allegro Arts Academy, tours with Adrenaline and Revive Dance Conventions, and is a teacher for Sarah Reich’s Tap Music Project. Tap Dance has always been at the forefront of Sydney’s life inspiring her to present her honors thesis: “Tap Dance as a Form of Non-Verbal Communication for Autism Spectrum Disorder.” Sydney graduated Summa Cum Laude from Pace University with a BA in Communication Studies.

Class Description
I strive to make my classes a safe place for exploration, discovery, and growth. We dive into our individual relationships to sound and movement, while continuing to honor the tap dance masters. I always begin class with a thorough warm up, introducing our bodies to a multitude of tap dance techniques. Immediately following, we will move through a couple of exercises ranging between technique drills, across the floor combinations, improvisation, musicality training, and/or hands and feet coordination. To finish, I will share a piece of choreography that encompasses everything we worked on. Here, dancers are encouraged not only to grasp the tap dance technique and rhythmic structure to the best of their abilities, but to also explore their approach to the floor, and how their bodies move through space. I absolutely love teaching at Steps on Broadway, and hope you join me in the studio soon!

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He recently directed and choreographed Maddie: A New Musical off-Broadway, nominated for 7 NYTF Awards and BroadwayWorld Awards including Best Musical, Direction and Choreography.

Other New York creative and assistant credits include: Wicked (Broadway), Do Re Mi (revival), Agatha Christie’s The Hollow (Players Theatre), Mike & Mindy’s Wild Weekend Jam (Players Theatre) and Company of Man (AMT Theatre).

Andrew worked as assistant to Bob Avian, Baayork Lee and the Michael Bennett estate on over 10 first class companies of A Chorus Line including: New York City Center, multiple National and International Tours, China Premier, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, The Public Theatre and The Apollo Theatre. Andrew also re-staged A Chorus Line at Summer Stock Stage and Algonquin Arts, nominated for 4 BWW Regional Awards.

Original, associate, resident and reconstruction work has been seen internationally with: Norwegian Creative Studios, Hershey Park, RWS Entertainment, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, American Dance Machine for the 21st Century, 54 Below, Green Room 42, CAP21, Hunter College in additional to multiple regional theatres, AEA staged readings and workshops. Andrew won both the 2021 NJ Perry Award and BWW Regional Award for Best Choreography in Hello, Dolly! with Capital Productions.

As a performer, he toured in national and international companies of 42nd Street and A Chorus Line, also seen at: North Shore Music Theatre, Gateway Playhouse, Maine State Music Theatre, ACT of Connecticut among many other regionals. On screen television and film credits include Saturday Night Live hosted by Jason Sudeikis, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Live by Night starring Ben Affleck, and Leading Ladies on PBS.

Andrew holds a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from The Boston Conservatory and additionally trained at The School at Jacob’s Pillow. He is currently on faculty at STEPS on Broadway, Peridance Center and adjunct at Marymount Manhattan College, dedicated to passing on a revived, classic style of story-telling based theatre jazz and tap.

Class Descriptions
Theater Dance
Class focuses on performance, technique, and individuality through the classic styles of musical theatre jazz dance. Andrew’s class begins with a concise, structured warm-up to enhance technique, strengthen and stretch the body through a series of jazz, ballet, yoga and pilates progressions. After across the floor sequences, combination will emphasize musicality, specification, story telling and strength. Dancers are encouraged to celebrate their individuality in an encouraging environment!

Tap
Class emphasizes strong technique, musicality, agility, precision and style through warm-up, across the floor sequences and combination. With Broadway-style hoofing and musical theatre style at it’s core, students will be challenged to dance will full body, not just feet.

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Moving to NYC to pursue her career in theater and dance, she has performed and choreographed in dance festivals and off broadway in Arabian Nights Secrets of the Desert. Yukari is currently a member of Vissi Dance Theater with Artistic Director Courtney Ffrench. Vissi is based at Jamaica Performing Arts Center in Jamaica Queens. She has toured with the company in America, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean and she has served in the capacity of associate producer and performer for the International Tours.

Yukari is presently on stuff, teaching dance and choreographing for Main Street Theatre & Dance Alliance here in New York City. Dance, choreography and producing dance is her passion and an expressive part of her life.
Official Website www.yukariikegaya.com

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