Tap the Map
If you own a dance studio outside of a major U.S. city, you’re undoubtedly aware of the high costs involved with organizing and hosting a master class. Quality, experienced teachers require airfare, usually from New York or Los Angeles, in addition to transportation to and from the airport and lodging and meals for the duration of their stay. Unless you have a guarantee that you have enough paying students to cover the expenses, setting up a workshop is financially risky.
Two New York-based tap dancers understand this concern and have created a brand-new workshop to help studios cut costs but maintain exciting, innovative classes for the students. Tap the Map is the brainchild of two tap dancers, Anthony J. Russo and Danny Wallace of TAPademics, Inc.
“We essentially combine a road trip with our talents and drive around the country directly to dance studios to teach and perform for kids,” Russo says. “We bring three teachers into a dance studio for a one-day, tap-intensive workshop. We drive directly to the studio from New York so no paying for flights!” Tap the Map classes cover everything from rhythm tap and musical theater to tricks and slides and tap history. At the end of the day, the faculty puts on a show for the studio.
The faculty currently consists of Russo, a former member of Tap Dogs, who also acts as director; Chris Erk, a tap technique teacher who currently dances for Jared Grimes’ company TADAH; Wallace, an international performer who teaches theater tap; and Donovan Helma, also a former member of Tap Dogs, who teaches tricks and slides. Jumaane Taylor of M.A.D.D. Rhythms in Chicago recently hooked up with Tap the Map for their spring tour.
The workshop has proven to be mutually beneficial for the instructors as well as the studio owners. When Russo and Wallace developed the concept for Tap the Map, they were both spending their weekends teaching master classes at various dance conventions around the country.
“We would fly out of New York on a Friday morning, teach at a convention all weekend, and then fly back home late Sunday or early Monday,” Russo says. “During these weekends you encounter multiple dance studios in one place. We had studio owners that would want us to come teach at their studio and they would just tell us to let them know if we were ever in town. This says one thing: they don't want to pay for flights! After hearing this from numerous teachers and studio owners, we decided it would be a good idea to just simply be in town.”
Now, Russo and Wallace can group studio workshops together into one trip instead of having to travel to and from New York every week. It has also helped them develop some consistency and stability with their employment.
“When we booked work before, it was more like an independent contractor situation,” Russo says. “You have to put your name out to as many people/companies as possible. If we weren't working consistently with a convention, friends would recommend us for teaching gigs and small performances here and there.”
When Russo and Wallace birthed the project it seemed natural, as teaching has been a part of their lives for many years, even though they have flourishing performing careers. “We actually all grew up in dance studios and were teaching at age 16,” Russo says. “So teaching has always been something we enjoyed on the side when we were not performing. Right now, our main focus is to take what we know and what we're still learning and share it with the world.”
Since Tap the Map is still in its first year, Russo has to dedicate a lot of time and energy to getting the word out, especially since they are working with a modest budget. As director, he regularly designates a few hours to call studios in certain areas and let them know about their workshop. He also searches the web to find contact information for dance studios and promotes the workshop through social networking sites such as Myspace, Facebook and Danceregister.
So far, the response to the tour has been incredible due to the simplicity involved with booking, according to Russo. They take care of transportation, pricing and scheduling, so none of the stress is passed along to the host studio. Plus, they are sure to create an exciting, unique experience for the students.
“We are just three fun guys that have a great chemistry together and that totally makes a difference when it comes to the experience that the students get during our workshop," Russo says.
Chemistry is especially important when it comes to spending so much time together in a van. The Tap the Map men are also very good friends, so they rarely have disagreements while on the road. They try to keep themselves busy with Mad Libs and movies, but since there usually isn’t more than four hours of travel time between studios, they don’t have the opportunity to get bored. (Russo advises readers to check out some of their road trip games by visiting youtube.com/tapthemap.)
So far, the workshop has visited about 15 states with hopes to visit more. In October and November of 2008, Tap the Map embarked on a Midwest tour, and the faculty just completed a Southwestern tour at the end of March. Russo says he’d love to take the tour to every state in the United States, but the main priority is to teach where Tap the Map is wanted. Tours usually come about organically, based around a couple of bookings.
“We do a lot of touring around N.Y. because the faculty is all based right in the city. (New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey, etc.) Those trips get set up as studios contact us. If we get one studio interested, let's say in Chicago, we'll contact studios in cities along the way and then in the surrounding area. Before you know it, we'll have 5 to 6 studios booked for a short 1-2 week tour.”
Studio owners from around the corner have been continually impressed with the professionalism and the enthusiasm of the Tap the Map faculty. The workshop’s interactive website allows users to leave comments about their experiences, and there is an overwhelming feeling of appreciation and positive energy involved with every testimonial. Many of the comments left by students simply ask, “When are you coming back?”
If you are interested in booking a Tap the Map workshop at your studio, the best thing to do is visit their website tapontour.com. The site includes a tour map that shows the states Russo and company will be visiting or are trying to book. However, even if your state isn’t highlighted, you can still email Russo to potentially add your state to the tour. Rates and class descriptions, as well as faculty bios are also located on the website. Currently, rates are $30/class or $70 for three classes for students, in addition to a $125 fee to the host studio. Studios also receive a $5 “kickback” for every student registered in the workshop.
You can also visit the website to purchase Tap the Map merchandise, which will go toward helping purchase a hybrid van for the tour.
To book a Tap the Map workshop in your area, visit tapontour.com, or contact Russo by emailing info@tapontour.com or calling (toll free) 877-2202TAP.