Brazil / South Region / Santa Catarina
Santa Catarina
2015
2014
Floripa Tap moves the cultural calendar and introduces big tap names
The Festival will happen on April 25th- 27th, counting with the presence of five American guests and five Brazilian guests.
The tap dance intensity, musicality, beauty and magic are back to the boards of Santa Catarina`s capital of. With a little more than a month left to the fourth edition of Floripa Tap, the event’s organization presents a schedule with brand new courses and the participation of great tap stars from around the world, making the Island of Santa Catarina festival one of the greatest from Brazil. Floripa Tap, which occurs on April 25th-27th, is already accepting registrations for the classes and tickets for the opening night are available, where national and international tap dancers will be presenting on the Centro Integrado de Cultura (CIC).
Three times the number of dancers registered for the courses, 60% out-of-state dancers, 10 star tap dance guests, five being American, and a theater three times bigger for the opening night. The numbers shown by Floripa Tap production not only show its consolidation on Brazil’s dance festivals calendar, as well as indicate a greater popularization of the style. “Of course the current scenario of music helps make the rhythm popular, but initiatives like the festival in Florianopolis, and others around Brazil also, are giving visibility to tap dance, to the specialized dancers, and creating a super interesting circuit in the country”, highlights Marina Coura, choreographer and coordinator of Floripa Tap since its first edition.
Floripa Tap’s success is also related to the stars which present year after year in the city. In 2014, this talented selection of tap dancers from the boards of Broadway and Hollywood is even bigger. This time there are five American professional guests, and five Brazilian as featured as the foreign professionals.
Board Exchange
Without a doubt, the most acclaimed name on our list is Lane Alexander. Founder of Chicago Human Rhythm Project, the biggest tap festival in the world, he has been to great events in New York, London, Washington, and Beijing; Alexander is prominent in the genre.
From Boston, Derick Grant has been to the stages of Broadway, Los Angeles, Washington, and now Floripa. Derick also knows a lot of Brazilian moves. He collaborated in a play which mixed tap and capoeira with the renowned Brazilian artist Nego Gato, who opened the shows of the singer Daniella Mercury.
Star Dixon, one of the original main dancers of the world renowned tap company MADD Rhythms, will also come to the Floripa festival. Dixon already taught in festivals such as The L.A. Tap Fest, Chicago Human Rhythm Project, Detroit Motorcity Tap Fest, & Chicago Tap Fest. Another spotlight is Bill Barret, founder of MADD Rhythms, director of The Chicago Tap Summit, Brill has performed in events like Tap Dance Kid, Imagine Tap, The St. Louis Tap Festival, The Calgary Tap Summit among others. And back for another edition of Floripa Tap, Maud Arnold was a hit sensation in the 2013 festival. Maud teaches courses around the world. She was on the top 20 world tap dance highlights of Dance Spirit Magazine. Currently, together with her sister Chloe Arnold, she directs the DC Tap Festival.
Brazilian Highlights
Amongst the great names of national tap and music presenting on Floripa Tap 2014 is our own Marina Coura, who has been to festivals such as the DC Tap Festival, The LA Tap Fest, and the great Chicago Human Rythm Project. Also present is Bia Mattar, who has been through classic dance, jazz, contemporary, specializing in tap and recognized nationally and internationally. Currently she represents the south macro-region of the country on the Dance Council, linked to the National Council of Cultural Policies.
Flavia Costa has participated in shows such as Mete Gol, 1000 Tempos, Projeto Coleções e Sonhos de Einstein.In 2013 Costa presented on the international night of Tap City, in NY, the solo Falling in the Rain, directed by Kika Freire. Leonardo Sandoval has been in dance competitionsand TV programs such as "Passo de Arte", “Xuxa Park”, "Domingão do Faustão" and "Pequenos Brilhantes". Currently, Sandoval lives in New York, where more than presenting on the streets of Manhattan, he also is part of the groups Apartment 33 and Dorrance Dance.
To reinforce the musician’s team of Floripa Tap 2014, the event production invited Rodrigo Paiva, professional musician since 1989, licensed in music by the State University (Udesc), Music M.A. by Unicamp, and currently undertaking a Percussion Doctorate, also in Unicamp, to participate. He does the musical direction of the group Perc Pé of Tap and Percussion and coordinates the Percussion group of Itajaí.
The program
Floripa Tap 2014 will be from April 24 to 27, with its traditional opening night on the Centro Integrado de Cultura (CIC). The whole schedule, class and teacher’s profiles are on the website www.garagemdadanca.com.br/eventos. You can also enroll in the courses in the website. The tickets for the opening night are on sale on Garagem da Dança’s reception, at Santa Mônica. There are still to be announced on the schedule the Jam Session, cutting contest, and presentations for the community.
Floripa Tap 2014
Date: From 25 to 27 of April (friday to sunday).
Places: Courses on Garagem da Dança (Av. Madre Benvenuta, 1636. Santa Mônica – Florianópolis/SC) and on Ceart – Centro de Artes da Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina (Av. Madre Benvenuta, 1907. Itacorubi - Florianópolis/SC).
Registration, tickets and more information on the website www.garagemdadanca.com.br/eventos, by phone +55 48 3209-9023, or on the reception of Garagem da Dança.
