LYNN DALLY co-founded Jazz Tap Ensemble in 1979 with Fred Strickler and Camden Richman. She is recognized for her role in the renaissance of tap dance in America. As dancer and choreographer, she has created a large body of original choreographies for the concert stage (disc 1) and performed in worldwide touring with the JTE. She has been honored to appear with tap legends Honi Coles, the Nicholas Brothers, Steve Condos, Brenda Bufalino, Sarah Petronio, Eddie Brown, Dianne Walker, Jimmy Slyde and Gregory Hines in venues from Carnegie Hall to the Apollo. As Artistic Director of the Jazz Tap Ensemble since 1986, she has continued to innovate in the field of rhythm tap with live jazz music, honoring the legends while mentoring gifted young artists. Favorite performances include Gregory Hines’ Evening of Tap at Carnegie Hall, Maison de la Danse Biennale “An American Story,” every JTE season at NY’s Joyce Theater, Salzburg Jazz Fest, Paris’ Theatre de la Ville, Hong Kong’s Municipal Theatre, Madrid’s Festival en Danza, the Smithsonian with Honi Coles, the Jazz Bakery in L.A.

Dally has received multiple choreographic grants from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as California Arts Council and Irvine Fellowships in Dance. Dally is the first tap dancer to be awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship in Choreography, with which she created Solea, a cross cultural rhythmic exploration for tap, flamenco, modern, and bharata natyam dancers. (disc 5) She performed in “Tap Divas” with Brenda Bufalino (disc 3) and Sarah Petronio at Tony Waag’s NY Tap City Festival, and received an ATDF “Hoofer Award” for Choreography. In 2008, she hosted the first national conference of female tap dance artists, scholars, writers, and documentary filmmakers at UCLA, “Women in Tap.” This led to the production of her first tap documentary, Gotta Move: Women In Tap which screened at Lincoln Centerand is now available on DVD (www.womenintap.com).

In April 2012, Dally and the Jazz Tap Ensemble were selected by the US Department of State to represent the United States in a month-long cultural exchange, Dance MotionUSASM, in the African countries of Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of Congo where JTE engaged with professional dance artists, youth ensembles, and at-risk youth populations in workshops, master classes, concerts and lively informal sessions. The Ensemble was both honored and privileged to be afforded this life changing experience. (disc 2)

Dally’s several commissions include Ruby, My Dear for Seattle’s Pacific Northwest Ballet, Tribute to Fred Astaire for the Getty Museum, Dancin’ the Blues for City of Los Angeles, Bahia Dreams for Joyce Theater Foundation. Dally holds degrees from the Ohio State University and Smith College and was Adjunct Professor at UCLA in World Arts & Cultures/Dance and TFT’s Musical Theatre Program 2000-2012. She mentored in Margaret Jenkins’ CHIME/LA program 2011. Dally is featured in the new book, “TAP DANCING AMERICA: a Cultural History,” by Constance Valis Hill, and in the documentary, “Thinking on Their Feet: Women of the Tap Renaissance,” by Jenae Cutcher.

Source: Jazz Tap Ensemble (JTE)

More information: jazztapensemblelegacy.org

Author, filmmaker and video artist Charles Picq (1952-2012) entered working life in the 70s through theatre and photography. A- fter resuming his studies (Maîtrise de Linguistique - Lyon ii, Maîtrise des sciences et Techniques de la Communication - grenoble iii), he then focused on video, first in the field of fine arts at the espace Lyonnais d'art Contemporain (ELAC) and with the group « Frigo », and then in dance.
   On creation of the Maison de la Danse in Lyon in 1980, he was asked to undertake a video documentation project that he has continued ever since. During the ‘80s, a decade marked in France by the explosion of contemporary dance and the development of video, he met numerous artists such as andy Degroat, Dominique Bagouet, Carolyn Carlson, régine Chopinot, susanne Linke, Joëlle Bouvier and regis Obadia, Michel Kelemenis. He worked in the creative field with installations and on-stage video, as well as in television with recorded shows, entertainment and documentaries.

His work with Dominique Bagouet (80-90) was a unique encounter. He documents his creativity, assisting with Le Crawl de Lucien and co-directing with his films Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux and 10 anges. in the 90s he became director of video development for the Maison de la Danse and worked, with the support of guy Darmet and his team, in the growing space of theatre video through several initiatives:
       - He founded a video library of dance films with free public access. This was a first for France. Continuing the video documentation of theatre performances, he organised their management and storage.
       - He promoted the creation of a video-bar and projection room, both dedicated to welcoming school pupils.
       - He started «présentations de saisons» in pictures.
       - He oversaw the DVD publication of Le tour du monde en 80 danses, a pocket video library produced by the Maison de la Danse for the educational sector.

       - He launched the series “scènes d'écran” for television and online. He undertook the video library's digital conversion and created Numeridanse.

His main documentaries are: enchaînement, Planète Bagouet, Montpellier le saut de l'ange, Carolyn Carlson, a woman of many faces, grand ecart, Mama africa, C'est pas facile, Lyon, le pas de deux d'une ville, Le Défilé, Un rêve de cirque.

He has also produced theatre films: Song, Vu d'ici (Carolyn Carlson), Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux, 10 anges, Necesito and So schnell, (Dominique Bagouet), Im bade wannen, Flut and Wandelung (Susanne Linke), Le Cabaret Latin (Karine Saporta), La danse du temps (Régine Chopinot), Nuit Blanche (Abou Lagraa), Le Témoin (Claude Brumachon), Corps est graphique (Käfig), Seule et WMD (Françoise et Dominique Dupuy), La Veillée des abysses (James Thiérrée), Agwa (Mourad Merzouki), Fuenteovejuna (Antonio Gades), Blue Lady revistied (Carolyn Carlson).

Source: Maison de la Danse de Lyon

Artistic direction: Lynn Dally Fred Strickler and Camden Richman

Creation: 1979

The Jazz Tap Ensemble, America’s first touring tap dance company, was founded in 1979 by three dancers and three musicians who brought original tap choreography with live jazz to the concert stage.   Initially inspired by the great rhythm masters John Bubbles, “Baby” Laurence, “Honi” Coles as well as Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell, Gene Kelly, the varied modern dance backgrounds of the dancers and the diverse interests of the musicians, JTE’s vision of excellence, innovation, and collaboration, with a deep respect for the living masters, brought forth a repertory of virtuosity, wit, and deep musicality.

JAZZ TAP ENSEMBLE has been honored to present and share the stage with a pantheon of tap legends including Jimmy Slyde, Steve Condos, LaVaughn Robinson, Fayard Nicholas, Harold Nicholas, Charles “Honi” Coles, Eddie Brown, Brenda Bufalino, Dianne Walker, Savion Glover, and our beloved Gregory Hines. Based in Los Angeles, JTE has appeared in major concert halls in the U.S. and abroad including the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian, London’s Riverside Theatre, Paris’ Theatre de la Ville, Lyon’s Maison de la Danse, as well as NY’s Joyce Theater, Jacob’s Pillow, Spoleto USA, major first generation tap festivals across the U.S., and State Dept sponsored USIA tours of Southeast Asia and Latin America. Most recently, via DanceMotion USA, a US Department of State program, we embarked on a life changing one month tour of central and South Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Bulawayo and Harare, Zimbabwe) where real cultural exchange was able to happen daily with local artists, dancers and musicians, as well as disadvantaged youth in workshops, master classes, and concerts.

Performance highlights include Gregory Hines’ “Evening of Tap at Carnegie Hall,” “Dancing in the Streets” at the Apollo, Hollywood’s Playboy Jazz Festival, Salzburg’s 10th Annual JazzFest, Madrid’s Festival en Danza, and Lyon’s 4th Biennale, “An American Story.” TV and film credits include JTE Live in Concert (London), JTE with Honi Coles (San Francisco), and Christian Blackwood’s award winning documentary, “Tapdancin.” Recognized as leaders in the renaissance of tap dance in America, Artistic Director Lynn Dally and Jazz Tap Ensemble are well represented in Constance Valis Hill’s new history book, “Tap Dancing America.”

Source: Jazz Tap Ensemble 's website

More information: jazztapensemble.org