AMERICAN
TAP DANCE INSTITUTE
"The
Spirit of Tap" Conference, Faculty for 2005
ATDI
Graduates
Loren
LoMastro -
Illinois, USA
Loren has 17 years of dance experience
in ballet, jazz, modern and tap, which make her a well-rounded and
versatile dancer, instructor and choreographer. Loren is on faculty at
a number of studios in Chicago’s North Shore area and has served as a
guest instructor/choreographer throughout Illinois and Indiana. She is
the Advisor and Rehearsal Director to Euphony Tap Ensemble and Prelude
Dance Theatre. She was a founding member of Terpsichore Dance Ensemble
(1997-2001) under the direction of Paula David and Lisa Sheppard.
During the 2001-02 season she attended company classes and trained with
River North Chicago Dance Company. She has performed at Dance Chicago,
Disney’s Magic Kingdom, EPCOT Center, Dance For Dreams, Ela Festival of
the Arts and Tango 21 (Ravinia Festival). She has danced in works by
renowned choreographers Claire Bataille, Frank Chaves, Jeff Hancock and
others. Loren has choreographed works for Terpsichore Dance Co., TJ &
Co. Dance Theatre, CenterStage and Lake Forest H.S. including the
musical productions “Grease”, “OKLAHOMA” and “The Music Man”. She has
received choreography awards from the Chicago Dance Connection and
Dupree Enterprises. For the past 4 years she has served as dance
instructor/coach to the Lake Forest H.S. Dance Team leading them to win
two State Championships and 2nd place at Nationals. In addition to 7
years of teaching experience, she is a member of the Cecchetti Council
of America from which she holds her Associate III Teaching Certificate,
a graduate of the NFHS Coaches Education Program and a graduate of the
American Tap Dance Institute’s Teacher Training and Certification
Program, the world’s foremost training program for professional tap
dance teachers. Loren actively serves as Illinois Delegate for the
National Dance Week Committee and continues her studies with various
instructors through master classes, seminars and festivals.
Loren's philosophy is "The student is the product of the teacher. The teachers level of enthusiasm, their knowledge of the subject matter and the effort they put into their job all contribute to what the student takes away." Loren's teaching style is innovative and fun, focusing first on fundamentals and then on style and performance quality. She is known for her high energy classes that help each pupil to reach their potential as an artist. Her students are a tribute to her investment in them, having performed at Disney’s Wide World of Sports, Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, MGM’s Indiana Jones Theater, television appearances on ESPN2 and have gone on to university dance/theatre programs as well as college dance teams. Loren would like to thank her family, friends, and teachers for their guidance, love, and support.
Krissie Odegard Geye -
Illinois, USA
Krissie Odegard Geye graduated with honors from the University
of Wisconsin-La Crosse with degrees in Music, Public Relations and
International Studies. She has been on staff for many arts organizations,
including Goliard Concerts in New York City, The Ethnic Dance Theatre in
St.Paul, MN, Barbi Lee Dance Arts Center in Minneapolis, MN, and the Arts
Alliance of Greater La Crosse. She has also served as a faculty member for the
New York City Public School system and worked as the Director of Dance at
Island Lake Summer Arts Camp in Starucca, PA. She has written and received
several grants to teach dance and music education to students in New York
City, Minneapolis, and La Crosse. Krissie recently moved to the Chicago area
from La Crosse, WI, where she served as the Director of Program Development
and a dance instructor at Misty's Dance Unlimited. She is currently on faculty
at the Dance and Music Academy, Le’Gere Dance Centre, Lake Forest Dance
Academy, Marcia’s Dance Studio, Leydon High School and the Lake Forest
Academy, teaching all levels of tap, jazz, ballet, and musical theatre. Ms.
Odegard Geye is happy to join the other TTP graduates:
"It is my hope to foster
creativity and nourish the imaginative spirit in every child I teach. The TTP
has given me an outstanding knowledge base to do so. I highly recommend this
program to all dance educators."
Nicole
Riehl - Saskatchewan, CANADA
Ms. Riehl began dancing at the age of three. She received most of her training at the Sitter School of Dance in
Saskatoon where she was very successful in all exam and competition endeavors. The expectations of her as a
student were high and she has carried this training on in her own teaching. Ms. Riehl is a Member Teacher of
the Stage Division of the Canadian Dance Teachers Association in both Tap and
Jazz and a Registered Teacher of the Royal Academy of Dance. Ms. Riehl has been teaching throughout Saskatchewan for many years and is currently entering her
seventeenth season with
the Unity School of Dance as well as her first season as a Tap and Jazz Instructor for the Conservatory of
Performing Arts in Regina. In addition to teaching many dance workshops in Canada and the USA, she continually
attends workshops and seminars to keep her own training up to speed. Ms.
Riehl has experience in Latin Dance and has taken class from Canadian
and World Champions. This past season, she also choreographed The
Pyjama Game for Lyric Light Opera.
"I feel honoured to be the first Canadian to Graduate from the ATDI. The vast
amount I learned from Chris and my peers is immeasurable. Thank you all so much."
Ms. Riehl was the first non-American candidate to graduate from the American Tap Dance Institute.
She is very enthusiastic about being a part of the 2005 Spirit of Tap
Conference.
Linda
Zapf - Texas, USA
As an eight-year-old, Linda Zapf began her
journey into the dancing profession studying tap, jazz, ballet, and acrobatics
from Jarreld's School of Dance in Mendota, Illinois. Now, with over two
decades of experience as an instructor/choreographer, Linda's achievements
have been prominent. Living in El Paso, TX since 1990, she has helped The
Dance Factory more than double its enrollment where she is the director of the
tap and clogging program. In January of 2003, Mrs. Zapf and her advanced
clogging students were asked to perform at the Sun Bowl's half-time show which
brought a standing ovation from the 52,000 plus fans. She has taken classes at
the Broadway Dance Center in New York and has attended numerous tap festivals
throughout the U.S. where she has had the opportunity to take tap classes from
Cholly Atkins, Fayard Nicolas, Henry LeTang, Savion Glover, Acia Gray and Bril
Barrett to name a few. She has choreographed for numerous community musicals
and events throughout her teaching career and has had the opportunity to
perform at Uncle Cliffs Amusement Park, in the musical "Dames at Sea," and in
a tap company "Jazz on Tap." Her students have won tap and clogging
competitions and some have gone on to pursue other dance endeavors including
Disney World, tap companies, or dance degrees. She also owns her own business,
Dance Enterprises, which is preschool program where she teaches creative dance
at other facilities throughout the El Paso area. In addition, Mrs. Zapf has
also been inspired to start a tap and clogging company for college students
and adults. By doing so, she hopes to entertain, inspire, and educate her
community with these two wonderful art forms. "I am honored and grateful to
be a graduate of the ATDI TTP. With the knowledge, wisdom, and guidance I have
received I hope to continue on my journey as a tap educator passing on the
tradition of tap dancing along with its history and musicianship to my
students. I also hope to inspire them as well as the spectators along the
way." Although tap has been Mrs. Zapf's forte and passion, she loves
spending time with her husband Stan and son Aaron whom she thanks very much
for their continued support.
Special Guests & Master Teachers
Cassandra Baker, Principal Dancer/Composographer, National Tap Ensemble, USA
Cassandra Baker (taps, vocals) has been performing and choreographing with NTE's professional company since 1990. A graduate of the University of Maryland's Dance Program, she also received formal voice and musical training and has performed musical theater works such as 42nd Street, Cabaret and Anything Goes with various companies across the United States. She has studied with many tap greats such as Eddie Brown, Steve Condos, and Sam Weber to name a few and credits Chris Baker, Buster Brown, Cab Calloway, John Hendricks and Dorothy Wasserman for inspiring her style and phrasing.
Described by several tap legends and insiders as one of the greatest performers they ever saw, Ms. Baker is also a master teacher with a style that mixes a warm personality, a sophisticated sense of rhythm, caring attention to each student and a good sense of humor. She has taught tap dance at Montgomery College, the Hot Feet Studio, at the Children's Forum for DC Public Schools and has conducted workshops and master classes nationwide as well as in Europe. She teaches each summer at major events such as the National Tap Seminar or the American Tap Dance Institute's Spirit Of Tap Conference, where she is always one of the students' favorite instructors.
As a performer, she has shared the stage with tap luminaries Eddie "Scientific Rhythm" Brown, James "Buster" Brown, LaVaughn Robinson and Germaine Ingram among many others. As Educational Programs Coordinator for the National Tap Ensemble she was instrumental in orchestrating an exponential audience growth that translated into more than 200 programs per season in the early years of the company, helping to establish NTE as one of the busiest performing arts companies in North America. As a choreographer, she has created and staged several National Tap Ensemble concert works as well as pieces performed in educational shows. As the Director of Flying Feet, the national tap dance company's Junior Company, she taught basics of technique and performing, oversaw rehearsals and choreographed for 25+ youngsters, several of whom have since turned the excellent skills they learned from her into successful careers. Ms. Baker also serves as Artistic Director and Choreographer Knights Of Harmony, a 70 member barbershop chorus.
Chris Baker, Artistic & Education Director, National Tap Ensemble, USA
Chris Baker credits the great Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong for inspiring him to delve into jazz music first and later into tap dance and acknowledges tap dance legends Steve Condos, Baby Laurence,, Fayard Nicholas, Eleanor Powell, Raymond Winfield and jazz music legends "Papa Jo" Jones and Duke Ellington as other major influences. Mr. Baker still keeps a busy performing schedule and likes "grooves and moves of all kinds." He also possesses a unique teaching background rooted in both a formal teacher’s education and in the invaluable experience of learning his craft from some of such all-time tap greats as Eddie Brown, Honi Coles, Chuck Green, Pamela Thompson, LaVaughn Robinson and of course Buster Brown, who was a very special member of the National Tap Ensemble cast during the last twelve years of his life.
A blend of caring, knowledgeable teaching and exhilarating
rhythm combinations made his classes popular at the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts
in California, Montgomery College in Maryland and American University in Washington, DC
among many other institutions. Chris Baker has also taught
guest master classes and
workshops at all levels in over two hundred dance centers, theaters and universities
across the US and overseas and has
trained countless young tap dancers, some of whom have
been chosen by young Broadway star Savion Glover to perform New York City. Others have
appeared with Gregory Hines at the Apollo Theater. Long known as a
"Teachers' Teacher," Mr. Baker has a strong personal commitment to improving
the poor teaching standards that are prevalent in tap and has been personally
conducting training sessions for the American Tap Dance Institute's
Teacher Certification Program
since 1998.
Chris Baker has researched and
developed most of the curriculum and African-American history celebrated by the
National Tap Ensemble's more than 20 educational programs. He is a founding
member of the International Tap Association and has been the producer and director of
many innovative events such as the 1985 Dance Tribute To Jazz Festival, the 1987 Los Angeles Master Tap Series,
the 1988 Los Angeles Tap Festival, the 1998 Maryland On Tap! Festival & American
Tap Dance Legend Awards, the 1991 and 1992 Hot Feet Festival in Washington, DC,
of which he was the curator, the 2003
and 2004 Western Maryland Tap Dance Festival, all editions of the annual "Spirit Of Tap"
Conference (the American
Tap Dance Institute's groundbreaking annual intensive) since 2000, etc. Chris
Baker relentlessly promotes excellence in artistic and ethical standards and has
been a quiet and strong driving force behind the current tap renaissance. Under his
leadership the National Tap Ensemble has gained international recognition while
helping over two hundred thousand young Americans better appreciate their own unique
heritage through high-quality educational programs that are brought directly to
the heart of communities nationwide.
Chris Baker is the recipient of several Maryland State
Individual Artist Grants for choreography and performance.
Over the past 20 years he has
also produced and directed in the U.S. and overseas major tap dance events, festivals
or shows that have featured
such legendary or leading artists as
Cassandra Baker, Bril Barrett, Ira Bernstein, Warren Berry (Berry Brothers,)
Buster Brown, Eddie Brown, Joe Chvala, Heather Cornell, Steve
Condos (Condos Brothers,) Willie Covan, Skip Cunningham, Savion Glover, C.B. Hetherington,
Gregory Hines, Germaine Ingram, Stanley Kahn, Paul Kennedy, Jenny Lane, Henry LeTang,
Frances Nealy, Gene Nelson, Harold and Fayard Nicholas (Nicholas Brothers,)
Idella Reed,
LaVaughn Robinson, Sandman
Sims, Linda Sohl-Donnell, Pamela Thompson, Kirby Ward, Dorothy Wasserman, Sam Weber, Chester Whitmore, etc.
Additional information on Mr. Baker's career can be found
here.
Click here for pictures of past
workshops and master classes
You can purchase
posters and pictures of these and other artists here.
