A Life-Long Passion: Acia Gray is Full of Creativity, and Never Tapped Out
Many dancers develop a clear goal at a relatively early age; they will be a sensation on the stage, or at the very least the best ballet, tap or Broadway dancer they can possibly become. They work hard and train well in hopes that their dream will ripen. Others stumble upon their passion a little later, or happen upon their calling in a fate-laced encounter. Nonetheless, once discovered, they work just as devotedly. A young Acia Gray sits on-stage, picks up her drumsticks and kicks off the night’s set; she’s been playing the drums since she was 8 years old. Her father has a band in Houston, TX, and her youth is spent on the stage into the early morning, of course only on weekends. Gray gains rhythm and a taste for the performance life.
Flash-forward some years, and she attends the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. She focuses her attention on becoming an actress and singer, studying dance for the first time in her college years; there her training includes modern, jazz, ballet and improvisation, as well as acting and musical theater. Gray gains technique, background and experience.
Soon after, she follows her nose and a choreographer who is starting a tap company in Austin, TX called Austin On Tap. This is how Acia Gray, famed tap dancer, Tapestry Dance Company artistic director, International Tap Association president and author began her dance career.
With a strong musical background, playing the drums, she found tap dancing came naturally. “I don’t think I would have ended up in tap shoes if it wasn’t for that,” says Gray.
During her college years she studied ballet and other styles, but tap was not her main focus. “I did a little tap,” says Gray. “I could do a time step as they say.”
However, it was not until she joined Austin On Tap that she found her passion. With the company throughout the 1980s, Gray was managing director and a principal dancer. Touring all over the United States, she would be on the road for two weeks to two months. She gained invaluable experience at the Colorado Dance Festival in 1989, which was the first tap residency in America. Gray was chosen to be one of 12 other dancers, and worked the stage with legend Charles “Honi” Coles.
“It completely changed my world,” Gray says of the festival, then going on to her second residency with Jimmy Slyde in 1990. Working with tap masters like “Honi,” Slyde, Steve Condos, Eddie Brown and Gregory Hines (to only name a few) fed her mind and technique. “It’s awesome because you learned more sitting around, talking at the table,” says Gray. “To be part of the generation that learned from these men is a godsend. To share my voice and play with these incredible musicians with their feet.”
Armed with endless work ethic, Gray jested that if she didn’t become a tap dancer and continued with her acting, she would be on Broadway. This is certainly no joke; her dedication and showmanship would have gotten her there.
Performing all over in productions like "The Great Tap Reunion," "Just Friends," "Masters of Tap," "The Soul to Sole Festival" and "Chicago on Tap" with well-known tap dancers, including Sarah Petronio, Dianne Walker and Savion Glover, her name and expertise traveled America.
Photo by Amitava Sarkar
Feeling like it was time to move on, Gray left Austin On Tap and with “her partner in crime,” Deirdre Strand, founded Tapestry Dance Company in 1989. “We pulled the company together with no restrictions in voicing itself. It’s not modern, not tap. A tapestry is all colors, all sizes,” says Gray.
Considered a fusion dance company, Tapestry performs different styles and the dancers have training in ballet, tap, modern and hip-hop. However, they are still primarily marketed as a tap company. “I didn’t choreograph with Austin On Tap, so it was a new outlet and challenge to truly create together,” says Gray.
The company is comprised of seven full-time dancers, four women and three men, and performs two main stage productions a year at the Paramount and other theaters in Austin. Tapestry is the only full-time tap dance company in the United States, and as with any dance company, they present and represent the art form to the public.
“We feel [pride] from the support in the field, and that we are able to accomplish this: a company with paid members and performances,” says Gray. “Representing tap in general is important. It’s integral to keep it real. As the artistic director I have to keep my eyes out on the best dancers out there, and to be honest in my work.”
Tapestry Dance Company’s Academy is a multi-disciplinary dance school and aims to train dancers with self-confidence and an understanding of the art.
Although Tapestry’s dancers come from all over, they recently have included a couple of students from their own academy. “The school has shown that it can produce high quality dancers,” says Gray, who seeks those with a high level of technique, all the while having an honest and sincere personality.
“Multi-form is important,” Gray says of her dancers who are all strong contemporary and tap dancers. “I look for those who are honest in their work and show they have the dynamics, shading and nuance of the great dancers of older age.”
Tapestry also has a number of wonderful outreach programs. They take peer mentorship into Austin’s public schools and expose children to dance through rhythm/percussion games and activities where the children truly discover dance. With several different programs and workshops, they aim to teach the history of tap and the great masters, as well as how to listen to tap.
Performing in 40 to 50 shows a year, Tapestry brings dance to the school auditoriums, funded by the City of Austin, TX. With outreach programs and performances, the company can introduce the next generation of dancegoers. “In a time like this, we need companies like us not charging. Everyone needs a little bit of hope.”
Having become a master teacher and choreographer, Gray has worked at many prestigious organizations and productions, including Columbia College, The Colorado Dance Festival, International Summer School/Cyprus, Dance Masters of America and The NYC Tap Festival. Her work has also shared the stage with major dance companies like New York City Ballet, Doug Varone and David Parsons Dance Project.
Choreography was a new challenge and Gray found a keen affinity for creating dances. “I work from the inside out. Being a drummer and musician, it’s composing. I fell into [choreography and teaching] hungrily, finding new ways to explore.”
Her choreography was recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in 2003, and again for her work “Souls of our Feet,” which is on its second national tour as an NEA American Masterpiece Production.
In 2002, Gray was inducted as a premier member of the Austin Arts Hall of Fame. “I thought I was too young. I must be old if they’re giving me something like this. I asked myself, ‘Is it over?’ I felt so young, but what an incredible pat on the back. Then, to get a stamp of approval from the NEA is like, 'Wow, cool!' You ask yourself if you’ve arrived, but you’re smart enough to know you never do.”
Working with the International Tap Association (ITA) since 1989, Gray was recently named president of the organization. “I’ve just always been interested in staying connected with what’s going on in the field; closing the gaps [between] the elders and young, and the masters and us.”
Gray stressed the importance of keeping the tap community as close-knit as possible, pointing out that tap is not ballet or modern. She has also worked with the National Tap Plan to bring the field together, evaluate how they are viewed and determine why tap dancers are not getting more work.
New to the ITA is an online portal, so information is easily accessible and more people can become involved. Dancers can communicate and cross-reference with each other, an important addition in a networking society.
Putting her experience and methods into writing, Gray’s book "The Souls of Your Feet: A Tap Dance Guidebook for Rhythm Explorers" is on its fourth edition and has been translated into several different languages. Utilized by universities and instructors, it delves into tap technique and choreography. “It’s not how to tap dance, it’s how to find your own voice,” says Gray.
In addition to all of her previous accomplishments, Gray has many plans for the future. She would love to have a home theater for Tapestry, and a season at The Joyce Theater in New York City. She also expressed an interest in writing a book with all of her personal stories and what she has learned from tap.
“Tap has really changed my life,” says Gray. And with all of her contributions and achievements, Gray has helped to change the lives of others with tap, preserving its history and propelling the form into future generations.