This year marks the beginning of a unique partnership between the Tap Legacy Foundation, Inc., and Flo-Bert, Ltd., in the production of the Tap Extravaganza to ensure the continued success of the event—at more than 20 years, it’s the longest running celebration of National Tap Dance Day.

Tap Extravaganza 2011 will take place on May 29 at 7pm in Haft Auditorium, Fashion Institute of Technology, West 27th Street (between Seventh and Eighth avenues), New York City. Tickets are $35 and $25.

Hosted by Broadway performer Rogelio Douglas Jr., the event will feature: Harold “Stumpy” Cromer, Mable Lee, Derick Grant’sImagine Tap, Andrew J. Nemr’s Echoes In Time, Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards’ Tribute to Michael Jackson, Les Femmes Plus (artistic director Germaine Salsberg), and S.L.U.R.P. (artistic director Adam Metzger). Also appearing will be the Take the Stage competition winner, the Senior Elite Tap Company from the Judy Dollenmayer Studio of Dance.

Flo-Bert Awards for Lifetime Achievement in Tap Artistry will be presented to Johnny Brandon and Charles Goddertz. A song-and-dance man in British vaudeville at 11, Brandon became a lead stage actor on the London stage, a tap choreographer, a teen heartthrob, a prolific songwriter (over 600 published), and a Broadway composer, receiving a Tony Award nomination for Best Original Score for Eubie!

A student of Jack Stanly (known for training many Broadway dancers), Goddertz’s career included Broadway performances inGeorgy; On the Town with Bernadette Peters; Teahouse of the August Moon; Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen; and Hello Dolly with Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey. In the mid-’80s he joined the staff of Collaborative Artists at New York University where he implemented the tap dance program, and began a sort of tenure at Steps on Broadway that continues to this day. For more information, visit www.tapextravaganza.org.

http://www.dancestudiolife.com/2011/05/partnership-ensures-continued-success-of-tap-extravaganza/