Tap Labs is a great opportunity for tap dancers to think about tap dancing in a whole new way. I was a competition kid who loved tap but had little knowledge of music or dancing with live musicians. On the recommendation of Germaine Salsberg I attended one of Heather's Tab Labs in 1996. It was one of the few pivotal moments in my dancing that propelled me to becoming a professional tap dancer. I struggled the whole time and had to practice every night to keep up. Heather approaches tap dancing in a very intellectual way and coming from 2 minute competition routines it was training I desperately needed. After that intensive I was lucky enough to be asked by Heather to be an apprentice in her company, Manhattan Tap. I call working with Heather my college education and cherish that time in my life.
Here is how Heather describes Tab Labs.
Three Weeks Aug. 4- 8, 10-14 and 17-21. Come for one, two or three weeks. 10 students maximum per week. 30 hours of classes per week.
Why a Tap Lab? I started my intensives 25 years ago in an effort to morph the way that we were studying and teaching tap. After studying with my mentors in the studio and on stage (Charles Cookie Cook, James Buster Brown, Steve Condos, Eddie Brown, Chuck Green and Harriet Browne), starting my company, Manhattan Tap, and meeting and working with my music mentor, bassist Ray Brown, I realized that if I wanted to really present tap dance, I was going to have to train the dancers in thinking and creating as a musician/dancer. And that doesn't happen in a two hour master class. So I started teaching intensives with my musicians, to get a dialogue going about how we connect, to spend time listening and learning and to give the students time to create and discover their own unique voice.
Heather and Ray Brown
25 years later, I'm refining the focus. If you are looking for a direction, wanting to feed yourself in a supportive community, wanting to try out ideas, wanting to share ideas, or just soak in wisdom, then this is where you want to be. My musicians and I will mentor, but we won't tell....we'll encourage you to take risks, to listen deeply and to discover new roads to travel. And we'll play a lot of music...physical music.
Week one: Musical Tap Composition Week two: Enhancing your Solo Voice Week three: Teacher's Week
Interested: Check out more info at : www.manhattantap.org
"Heather Cornell you've inspired and gave hope to so many of us - It is thanks to you that I truly found my passion and felt that it was possible - thank you for making people realize that they are good enough and should cherish their gift" Student, Geneviève Cleary, Montreal, Canada
"Taking part in a 2 week intensive with Heather Cornell opened a new door for me in tap, and has had a great and very constructive impact on my approach to what I do. Free your mind, and the rest will follow! I was so lucky to be there!", Student, Janne Eraker,, Norway
Links:
Tap Love Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/the-tap-love-tour/episode-12-heather-cornell-making-music-dance
Tap Love Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkuTMvx2Py0
Making Music Dance CD: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/makingmusicdance
Facebook Groups: Heather Cornell’s Rhythm Tap Percussion Updates Making Music Dance