Affordable Family Entertainment

Stacie Strong | Feb 07, 2009 | there are 0 comments

The great Dianne Walker, one of the performers at the DC Tap Festival in April 2009

Looking for something affordable for your family to do together? Keep your eye out for tap festivals - they usually sponsor performances at the end of a long weekend of teaching, featuring some of the best known names in tap all for an incredibly reasonable price. Read on to learn more.

As Dancer magazine's tap blogger, I get a lot of press releases from various segments of the dance community. I just received news of the DC Tap Festival, which will be held April 17-19, 2009, in our nation's capital. As is usual with tap festivals, the teaching and performance bill is filled with current tap stars such as Jason Samuels Smith and Baakari Wilder; tap legends such as Dr Harold Cromer and Dianne Walker; and future professionals performing in the stand-out youth group, Tappers With Attitude. This will be a diverse, high energy and exciting performance, yet it's unclear whether anyone outside the tap festival circuit will hear about it.

Whenever there's a tap festival in or near my town, I go to both classes and performances. I don't live in DC, so I doubt I'll be able to get to this one. However, my sister and her family - including my two young (ages 4 and 7 - hi guys!) nephews - live in the DC area, and I've recommended that they go see the performance, even if the kids won't be in any of the classes. Why? Both boys like tap - the elder has taken tap lessons (he has a love of improv, though I think his shoes didn't fit quite right!) and the younger is fascinated with Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor in "Singin' in the Rain," doing excerpts all around the house and often in public as well. Even more importantly, though, tap is a family-friendly performance art that won't break the budget. In this time of economic uncertainty, families need something affordable that they can do together. Tap festival performances - which feature 10-30 dancers all told - and a wide variety of music and interpretive styles - have an accessibility that single-company performances often don't. It's kind of like what people say about the weather in Missouri or Chicago - if you don't like it, just wait a few minutes and it's bound to change. Tap festival performances are that way - if one piece doesn't resonate with you (of course I think they all will, but it's possible something won't strike a chord with everyone), just wait and in a few minutes you'll have something different to appreciate.

So keep your eyes open for tap festivals in your area. By attending their performances, you're not only supporting dance art and artists, you're supporting your own finances - and who doesn't like that?

For more information on the DC Tap Festival, go to DCTapFestival.com. You can also keep an eye on the performance page of danceruniverse.com to look for festivals and shows in your area.