Synopsis
The Souls of Your Feet is a comprensive guide to the art and language of tap dance. Complete with basic technique and creative variations, this guidebook shows the beginning dancer how to build a strong foundation in this wonderful American artform as well as expand the experienced dancer's choreographic and improvisational creativity. Traditional tap dance figures and choruses to include The B.S. Chorus and The Shim Sham Shimmy are some of many basic structures covered in this guidebook. Numerous references are made to the legends of tap dance including Charles "Honi" Coles, Brenda Bufalino, Jimmy Slyde, Sarah Petonio, Savion Glover and many others securing the artform to its historical roots.
About the Author
Acia Gray has toured extensively as soloist, choreographer and teacher in over 250 cities across the U.S. and abroad and, along with Deirdre Strand, is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Tapestry Dance Company in Austin, TX, one of the few professional, multi-form companies in the country. With TDC, her works have shared the stage with such companies as the New York City Ballet, the Houston Ballet and Doug Varone & Dancers among many others. After graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, NYC, Ms. Gray began her professional dance career as a principal dancer and Managing Director of Austin on Tap, one of the busiest touring tap companies in the l980's. As a soloist, she has since shared the stage with such tap greats as Steve Condos, Jimmy Slyde, Lon Chaney, Chuck Green, Sarah Petronio, Brenda Bufalino and Savion Glover among many others. Ms. Gray was chosen as one of 12 dancers worldwide to work with tap legend Charles "Honi" Coles in America's first Creative Residency in the art of tap at the Colorado Dance Festival and again in l990 with Jimmy Slyde. She has appeared in The Great Tap Reunion, Tap/Dowop, Chicago on Tap, the Las Vegas Tribute to Cholly Atkins, Just Friends with Sarah Petronio and the PBS documentary Honi Coles - A Class Act. Ms. Gray is an original steering committee member of the International Tap Association, Artistic Director/Tap of the Dance Arts Institute of America and is currently on faculty for Austin Community College and The TDC Academy. She has also taught for the International Summer School/Cyprus, Dance Masters of America, the Dance Center of Columbia College, the Colorado Dance Festival, Chicago on Tap, the University of Texas, the Texas Association Teachers of Dance and numerous other college, theatre and community dance organizations. In addition to Tapestry works, her choreography has been commissioned by Ballet Austin, St. Louis' Tapsichore, numerous modern dance choreographers and equity productions of She Loves Me, Cabaret, Man of La Mancha and Nunsense! Ms. Gray continues as choreographer, collaborator, educator and dancer in the effort to bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary views of dance and American rhythm tap.
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