Circle City Dance Production's
Tap Teacher Training Intensive
July 24 - 25, 2020
DanceWorks Indy
Circle City Dance Productions and the Circle City Tap Company strive to help build/strengthen the whole of the Indianapolis tap community. We are excited to offer this opportuntiy for tap teachers of all walks of life to strengthen their teaching abilities to provide the best tap education to their students as possible. This intensive is perfect for those who maybe teach tap but wouldn't consider themselves dedicated tap dancers as well as the more seasoned tap teacher.
COVID-19 Contingency Plan: Should the in-person training intensive have to be cancelled due to ongoing concerns with the coronavirus, we will plan to move all classes to a virtual setting! Either way, we plan to move forward with this event!
Faculty
Click the faculty member's name to learn more!
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Denise Caston-Clark was a Radio City Rockette for 10 years and toured nationally with the Tony Award winning musical, Crazy For You. Denise has also had the honor of performing the choreography of Savion Glover at a showcase in New York City. She performed on tour in Australia, dancing all over the continent in Elvis to the Max. Her choreography has been seen in many productions in which she performed, including shows at Caesars Windsor in Ontario, Canada. Credits also include film, television, commercials, and industrials. She was on the faculty at Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway in NYC, and is thrilled to be launching Tap Dance Detroit. Other teaching credits include Debbie Allen Dance Academy Summer Intensive, Gregg Russell's Tap Into the Network, Big Apple Tap Festival, and The Rockette Experience© at Radio City Music Hall. In 2011, Denise was invited to speak at the TEDx Detroit Conference about her contributions to the cultural landscape in Detroit, including founding and producing Motor City Tap Fest and founding the Detroit Tap Repertory. In 2014, she was awarded a prestigious MaTilDa Award from her alma mater, Oakland University, for Alumni Achievement in Dance. |
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Lorenda June Carr is owner and executive director of Circle City Dance Productions, LLC, Circle City Tap Festival, Circle City Tap Company, and co-founder of Midwest Open Rhythm Exchange (M.O.R.E.). Born and raised in Indianapolis, she began dancing at age 3, was a dance performance major at Ball State University, and has been a dance teacher/choreographer for over 30 years specializing in tap. Lorenda has taught competitive and non-competitive classes to all ages, levels and styles. She has been judging dance competitions for 20 years and has even been seen on tv judging for “Dance Moms” numerous times. Other credits include choreographing for numerous high school show choirs and musicals, performing in Tap 24/7’s “In the Pocket”, producer for the Meals on Wheels annual fundraising event “Dancing with Our Stars”, and of course performing with her company, Circle City Tap Company, since 2012. |
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Jeffrey Bird, Jr. is a tap dancer, teacher, and choreographer currently based out of Indianapolis. He started dancing at the age of 8 and trained in tap with Julie Sizemore, Ryan Lohoff, Gregg Russell, Mark Goodman, and Cory Finn. His personal style takes little bits from each of his teachers and creates a style that is fast, big, and aerobic. In 2015, Jeffrey joined the Circle City Tap Company as a dancer in the Professional Company and now serves as the Artistic Director of the company. Since joining CCTC, he has performed in various shows and helped direct five. In addition to his work with CCTC, Jeffrey is also a member of Tap24.7 out of Phoenix, Arizona and has traveled the country performing in their original shows "TAPspeak" and "Murder at the TAP'ocho." Jeffrey has been teaching tap dance for over ten years and has also taught on the festival circuit. He was on faculty at the 2017 Circle City Tap Festival and has taught at TAPapalooza in Detroit (2018), Phoenix (2019), and Seattle (2019). Jeffrey considers two of his biggest mentors to be Jenefer Miller and Gregg Russell, both of whom challenge him not only as a dancer but as a musician, technician, teacher, and choreographer. In addition to his work as a tap dancer, Jeffrey holds a BA in Theatre from Butler University and is a member of the Character House Theatre Company. He trained extensively in the Stanislavsky Method of acting having trained in depth with Elaina Artemiev. He studied for six weeks at the Moscow Art Theatre School and was directed by Marina Brusnikina, the Associate Artistic Director of the Moscow Art Theatre, in "The Seagull" by Anton Chekhov. His training in Stanislavsky helps Jeffrey find a depth of realism and life in his performances both as an actor and as a dancer. He believes that training in this method can assist dancers in achieving a deeper and more meaningful level of performance. Other Credits include: Porfiry Petrovich in "Crime and Punishment," Sorin in "The Seagull," Nick Bottom in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Claudio in "Much Ado About Nothing," and Creon in "Antigone." |
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Ashley Lain is a passionate educator and well-rounded dancer with thirteen years of experience as a tap instructor. As a professional company member with Circle City Tap Company, Lain has taught, choreographed, and performed with the company for the past two years. She got her start in Indianapolis under the instruction of Linda Rees at Dance Magic Performing Arts Center. Lain trained intensively in tap beginning in middle school, taking private lessons and exploring tap festivals throughout the Midwest region. In Cleveland, she connected with Sarah Savelli, a mentor who has contributed significantly to Lain’s tap and teaching styles. Many Chicago-based artists have also played a role in her development. Lain has attended many Rhythm World Festivals and was awarded a Tap Scholar award through the Chicago Human Rhythm Project to attend the Institute for the Rhythmic Arts, a three-week residency hosted by Nicholas Young. Lain travelled to Ohio to continue her dance education, achieving a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Kent State University. During her time there, she continued teaching and choreographing for a local studio. Upon graduation, Lain also became involved with a dance outreach program that brought dance to inner city schools. Teacher training for this program was extensive, modeled after Rosie O’donnell’s arts education program, “Rosie’s Theater Kids.” Key components of this teacher training included working with live accompanists, classroom interaction and call-and-response, speaking in time, and using strong verbal cues to guide the class. Lain’s passion for teaching and being in schools led her to complete a Master’s in Elementary Education. She takes pride in finding ways to connect with each student in the room, meeting them at their level, building their self-esteem, and exciting them about learning. |