Feature Articles

The American Tap Dance Foundation’s ‘Tap it Out’ returns to the heart of the theater district

Tap it Out 2018. Photo by Amanda Gentile.

The American Tap Dance Foundation’s Tap it Out will return with a live performance in the middle of Times Square on Saturday, July 10, at 11:30am. This free, public event, in Father Duffy Square/Times Square/Broadway, 7^th Avenue and W. 47^th Street, will mark the conclusion of Tap City, The New York City Tap Festival.

The Tap it Out event will present tap dancers on individual portable boards in a structured improvisation, followed by unison choreography and the “Shim Sham Shimmy.” At Noon, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will present a Commemorative Forever® Stamps First Day of Issue Dedication Ceremony for their new series of stamps in honor of tap dance.

Each stamp features a photograph of one of five NYC tap dancers (Ayodele Casel, Dormeshia, Derick K. Grant, Michela Marino-Lerman and Max Pollak) performing their craft against a brightly colored background that highlights the dancer’s shaping and movement. The stamp’s photographer, Matthew Murphy, and several of the dancers pictured on the stamps, will be in attendance.

The new U.S. Postal Service stamps in honor of American Tap Dance.

The stamp issue goes on sale at post offices across the United States on July 10. To support the ceremony, the new stamps will be available for purchase in the USPS retail mobile truck located on the corner of 46^th Street and 7^th Avenue.

According to USPS, “By featuring photographs of these talented dancers, the U.S. Postal Service intends to honor this important American dance form and, by extension, all tap dancers, past and present, who have made tap dancing a dynamic art that continues to evolve in response to new cultural influences.”

The July 10 live Tap it Out dance performance and tap dance stamp dedication marks the conclusion of the American Tap Dance Foundation’s week-long annual Tap City Festival (July 5-10). Tap City, The New York City Tap Festival offers 35 master classes, daily community talks, and exclusive nightly events, shows and talkbacks. New York City is heralded as the “hometown” of tap dance, with historic Broadway theaters contributing greatly to the art form’s evolution. This year, Tap City will celebrate its 20^th anniversary.

For more information, visit atdf.org.