Claire AlbertClaire is an Indianapolis native, who hasn’t stopped dancing since the age of 3. Claire has studied tap, ballet, pointe, jazz, modern and contemporary dance styles, and she has won various titles at both regional and national competitions as a member of The Dance Refinery’s Artists in Motion Company. Claire’s passion for human movement through dance initiated her desire to earn her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Indiana University in 2020. Claire is ecstatic to join the Circle City Tap Company onstage this year after taking a year off from the company to finish her residency in Tampa, Florida!
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Jeffrey Bird, Jr.Jeffrey has been tap dancing since he was 8 years old. His passion for tap soared past every other genre, and soon he became an award winning tap dancer both regionally and nationally. After graduating high school, Jeffrey began teaching and eventually joined CCTC in December of 2015. Jeffrey was a double major in Theatre and History at Butler University (Class of 2018) and is currently pursuing his Masters Degree in US History at IUPUI. Jeffrey now serves as the Artistic Director of CCTC and teaches tap at Indy Dance Academy. He is also a member of Tap24.7 out of Phoenix, Arizona.
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Patty BuckhornPatty joined CCTC in 2016 and has enjoyed growing with the company. She grew up dancing ballet, tap, and jazz, but her passion has always been tap dancing. She teaches tap at Village Dance Studio in Zionsville, is an Executive Recruiter for a logistics company in Milwaukee, and is most proud to be a wife and lucky momma of four crazy and wonderful kiddos!
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Sydney BrownSydney is a first year at Purdue University. She has been dancing since age 5 and competing since age 10, eventually falling in love with tap. When she's not dancing she can be found hanging out with her friends, eating French fries, shopping, or drowning in homework.
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Lorenda CarrLorenda Carr is owner and director of Circle City Dance Productions, LLC, Circle City Tap Festival, Circle City Tap Company, Young Hoofers Club, and Co-founder of Midwest Open Rhythm Exchange (MORE). She began dancing at age 3, was a dance performance major at Ball State, and has been a dance teacher/choreographer for over 30 years with a particular love for tap. She is currently the Director of Competition Teams at Interactive Academy in Zionsville, IN. Lorenda is dedicated to bringing performing arts education and opportunities to Central Indiana as well as creating a community of artists that work together to ensure dance and the performing arts are kept alive and well for generations to come.
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Lora DingledineLora Dingledine began dancing with CCTC in 2019 and has been tap dancing since the age of 11. She also studies jazz, hip hop, and contemporary dance, but tap has always been her passion. Originally a music teacher in central Indiana, Lora now works as a Doctor of Physical Therapy for Community Health Network in Indianapolis.
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Deanna GarnerDancing since the age of four, Deanna is an adult tap dance instructor at Indianapolis Movement Arts Collective and a company member of CCTC. An experienced performer, choreographer, and judge, who studied tap, jazz, ballet, and modern dance, Deanna earned a degree in Dance Performance from Ball State University. She danced and choreographed for IU Northwest Dance Company for 5 years while teaching at nearby studios before moving back to Indianapolis. Dancing is a passion that Deanna is thankful to pursue in her spare time when she is not working as a Recycling Program Manager for the IN Department of Environmental Management.
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Maddy HorneMaddy Horne is a full time student, thespian, and tap dancer. Maddy is a student at Indiana University and when she’s not busy dancing and studying, she enjoys reading and traveling. “Have courage and be kind”
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Ella HowellElla is 18 years old and has been a member of Circle City Tap Company since 2018. She has been dancing since she was 8 years old and has been dancing competitively since the age of 12. She is dancing at Dance Innovations PAC and recently graduated from Zionsville Community High School. Ella looks forward to moving up to the Pro Company in May and continuing to improve and learn with CCTC.
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Ashley LainAshley is an Indianapolis native, who grew up training and teaching at Dance Magic Performing Arts Center. She attended Kent State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Dance. She has been active in the dance community as a professional dancer, instructor, and choreographer. One of her favorite teaching positions brought dance to inner-city schools; this led Lain to pursue her Master's degree in Elementary Education. She is ready for her second season with Circle City Tap Company!
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Samantha PittengerSam joined Circle City Tap Company when she was 12. She was hesitant at first to join a tap company, but when she finally gave it a try it changed her life for the better! She could finally do something that she was passionate about and be happy with people that loved tap as much as she does. She is still having a blast and having tons of fun and just living the best life since.
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Tanya RadisichTanya found her passion for tap dance at the age of 9 at Academy of Dance in Warner Robins, GA. She trained in ballet, tap, and jazz, but tap is her favorite because of the heavy emphasis on rhythm and musicality. Tanya was a tap dance teacher at Peacock’s Performing Arts Center in Bonaire, GA from 2016-2020. She has attended Totally Tap! in GA twice, the North Carolina Rhythm Tap Festival, and the Tampa Bay Tap Festival. Tanya also completed Karida Griffith’s Tap Teacher Training Program in 2019. She now lives in Bloomington with her husband and daughter. Tanya is excited to join CCTC this year!
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Mel Smeltzer
Melanie started dancing at age 3, but didn't put on tap shoes until age 4. She trained competitively in all styles for 11 years, and decided at age 15 to focus solely on tap dance. Her company experience includes: Circle City Tap Company (2015-present), American Tap Company (2017-2018), and the Loose Screws Tap Company (2018-present). She is currently attending Purdue University and is spreading her roots of tap by teaching classes at Studio b and organizing Purdue's tap club, Footnotes:PTC.