Advanced/Professional Performance Workshop, 2004

Review From 2006 Students

"It's about finding a balance" says Heather Cornell, Artistic Director of Manhattan Tap. "The best dancers on the scene right now are the ones that have an equal respect for choreography and improvisation". The integration of these concepts in Heather's work, both ensemble and solo, has made Manhattan Tap one of the most exciting tap companies in the world for many years.

Heather's annual two week intensive creates an atmosphere of mutual inspiration where students can explore, not just as dancers but also as musicians with musicians. Whether experiencing the musicality of the Eddie Brown lost routines, dancing in 6/4 to African music or creating their own ensemble piece or jazz theory class, the process of collaboration is an ongoing theme. "The Intensive not only challenges you technically and musically but also makes you develop as an artist, dancer and teacher." Jo Anne Scanlan, UK.

The beginner/ intermediate class, which serves as the morning technique class, explored West African and Cuban rhythms, with musician Andy Alguire and Heather tuning our taps to different time signatures and layered polyrhythms. "It really helped me realize how much further we can all go with our tap dancing and choreography." Anthony Landa, student.

As always in Heather's intensive, musicians from the local scene dropped by to "sit in" and add to the ongoing collaboration. Dancer Max Pollack was a regular on percussion and African griot Abou Sylla played Balafon. Chikako Iwahori stopped by to share some West African dance which was great fun and left us unable to move our arms for days afterwards.

Eddie Brown was one of Heather's main tap mentors and she spent countless hours in the studio with him working one on one. She is compiling her Lost Routines from video footage of their sessions. This year we learned routine number three, "The Time Steps", three choruses of beautiful, melodic and rhythmically complex time steps. "Eddie was so prolific. He never repeated himself and an unbelievable amount of material went by." says Heather. "I wanted to organize it into routines so that it was in a teachable format that I could pass on".

Heather's approach to creating work is unique in how artfully she collaborates with musicians. Jazz pianist Keith Saunders, her collaborator and musical director of Manhattan Tap for 15 years, led music theory classes looking at timing, phrasing, groove and improvisation. "Tapaholic" is one of many pieces born of Heather and Keith's collaborative partnership and was originally performed as an improvised duet. In the professional workshop we approached this work from a different perspective, arranging the piece for ensemble which was a fascinating and surprising experience. With Heather's guidance we learned many valuable lessons about creating tension and surprise on stage and leaving space for the individuality of the performers to emerge amidst the structure of ensemble choreography.

"To collaborate with the two key figures of Manhattan Tap, the artistic director Heather Cornell and the musical director Keith Sanders, was truly an unforgettable and unique learning experience". Jussi Lindroos, Feetbeat Tap Ensemble, Finland.

Written by Jessica Murray, 2006 Scholarship Student and Grand Slam Participant; Faculty Member, LIPA, Liverpool, England

Review From 2005 Students

As a performer, teacher and choreographer, Heather Cornell is definitely one of the big names in Tap. She works around the world, yet every summer she returns to her home base, New York City, for a two-week long intensive that is just that: intense.

"Heather's intensive was an experience like no other, her approach to tap is unique and inspiring. From hearing about her experiences with some of Tap's most important figures such as Buster Brown, Cookie Cook, Chuck Green and many more, to being placed in situations with musicians that were different and new, Heather has opened my eyes to all of the great possibilities within Tap and music." -Adriel Williams, Washington, DC

This one-of-a-kind program offers students the opportunity to work with Heather, and, through her and her style of teaching and dancing, a connection with the legendary tap dancers. The program offers 56 hours of diverse classes, consisting of a beginner class, music classes, the Advanced/Intermediate workshop and material of the masters, all spiced with ongoing informal and personal tap history, and taught in accordance with Ms. Cornell's philosophy that anyone can be the next great tapper. This year the spotlight in the mentor's class was on Buster Brown as students learned his dances; Laura, Fascinating Rhythm and Just You, Just Me. Each of these is not only a classic, but also a formidable dance to have in every tappers' repertoire.

"Ms. Cornell shared her experience in tap history and music stucture and was truly willing to help you to discover the answers to your questions." Jussi Lindroos, Feat Beat Tap Company, Finland

The intensive draws dancers from all over the world with Germany, Spain, Finland, Estonia, Canada, France, China, Japan and the US represented. It has important distinctions from your ordinary summer festival: the amount of one-on-one work with a single teacher and the chance to work with a vast array of world class musicians. As expected the musicians played the music that students were dancing to, but, as may not be expected, they actually taught the students how to play their instruments, how to work with musicians, music theory and even the culture behind their music. Experimentation was key as Ms. Cornell, the participants and the musicians all embarked on a collaboration combining tap with Jazz piano, balafon and more. The experience of being in the middle of the city that never sleeps and experiencing pure collaboration with some of the best around was thrilling to all. The feeling in the class was so inviting that musicians jumped into improvisation circles to dance and students sat in with the band in classes.

"The workshop was a great opportunity to watch and participate in the process of collaboration between dancers and musicians. The atmosphere was creative and organic, and a very active, inspiring way to learn." Suzanne Bouffard, Boston

The intensive is known around the NYC community as a haven not only for dancers but for musicians as well. We had extensive work with master balafon player and African griot Famoro Dioubate as well as with inspired jazz pianist Andy Milne. Over the two weeks, dancers such as Chikako Iwahori, Max Pollak and Lynn Schwab dropped by to check out classes, to sit in with the musicians or just to dance. Lorraine Condos, widow of legendary tapper Steve Condos, stopped by to say hi and watch.

The greatest gift that a dancer receives from participating in this intensive is feeling as if one has a better connection with the past and with the community that defines tap dance. A healthy understanding of where we come from is the focal point of many of Heather's principles of teaching, and a focus of the intensive. It's a great workshop for any dancer, and an experience that anyone serious about tap dance should not miss.

"This workshop really had everything that I needed: intensive dancing, historical information, and a lot of info from and discussion with professional musicians, which can be a rarity. I felt that after this workshop, I really had a lot to bring back and offer to my hometown tap community." Kaleena Miller, Buckets and Tap Shoes, Minneapolis, MN Kaleena Miller, Buckets and Tap Shoes, Minneapolis, MN

Written by Eric Williams, 2005 Scholarship Student, Grand Slam Participant

Review From 2004 Students

This past July 50 tap students of all levels and nationalities gathered at the Bridge for Dance to participate in a unique two-week workshop with Manhattan Tap artistic director Heather Cornell. The workshop's emphasis on musicianship, artistry, exploration and collaboration lifted it above the chaos and sometime-impersonality of a typical summer dance workshop.

"This experience was life-changing for me. We learned to speak "jazz". It was much different from any class I had ever taken. Heather pushed us to focus our dancing in a new light. Suddenly, creating our own rhythms was no longer intimidating, but simply part of what we do - as tap musicians. Heather created a path, if you will, to another level of improvisation and tap dancing. It was really fun to work at this level - comfortably." -Jenefer Miller, Phoenix, AZ

The four courses offered in the workshop were, as always in Heather's classes, tailored to the dancers needs. The majority of students, many veterans of Heather's workshops, were signed up for all four--the "grand slam," and thus were able to really build on the principles taught in each class, and to develop a true sense of community.

The day began with a beginner/intermediate class focusing on development of tap skills in working with music, improvisationally and choreographically. Then, on the premise that "the best way to understand anything is to experience it," African drumming guru Andy Algire led a music workshop in which students experimented with different world rhythms and instruments. Students were able to explore rhythms first with their feet, and then with their hands, building on the notion of dancer as musician.

In the second week, Heather taught Eddie Brown's "Lost Routine #2 - The Blues," a six-chorus blues made up of discarded steps from private sessions between Heather and Eddie recorded when they were working on her solo "Eddie's Sounds" in 1991 in Los Angeles. "Eddie was a phenomenal improviser who effortlessly generated unlimited material," Heather says. "His 'classy tap' style, which consisted of incredibly complex rhythmic phrases, completely changed my approach to tap."

In the most exciting part of this year's workshop, Heather offered her unique Advanced/Professional Performance Workshop. In "Musical Chairs/Collaborating with Musicians," she shared her more than 20 years of experience in collaborating with musicians on original music for tap, 15 of those with Manhattan Tap's jazz trio, led by pianist Keith Saunders.

Students worked with Keith on piano, Eddie Ornowski and Nadiv Snir on drums, and Lee Hudson on bass, learning how to effectively communicate with musicians, from musicians, and discovering the different possibilities and personalities of the instruments. Each dancer then developed his or her own arrangement, choosing a standard and creating a choreography or improvisation with the trio, as the rest of the group offered feedback and support. Each tapper brought his or her experience and style to the task. The results were all completely different - and all outstanding, as dancers were inspired by the musicians and by each other to try out new ideas and push beyond their comfort zone.

"I think the most memorable thing for me was the opportunity to experiment in a nonjudgmental environment with the support of teacher, musician, and student. Being in a setting where we could ask so many questions made for great learning." Dana Szyndrowski, Canada

Participants ended the two weeks reluctantly with a profound sense of having had a truly unique and invaluable experience, of having "tapped in" in a deeper way to tap dance, music, and one another. Says Diane Richardson, director of Tapestry, Ireland, "Living and working in Ireland can be very isolating . . . Heather's courses are a great way to re-establish the link into the tap family. I came home with a renewed sense of confidence and that feeling of 'anything's possible'."

Written by Rachel Cohen, 2004 Grand Slam participant