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| Peggy Spina, having created over 100 dances for her tap ensemble, is probably the most prolific tap choreographer on the East Coast. Commenting about her work and company she says,
"Some of my dances are like poems. Emotional states or imaginary visions transform through rhythmic structure into tap abstractions. There is no carbon copy look about the Peggy Spina Tap Company. My dancers are talented and smart individuals who are equally capable as part of a quintet, duet or solo. They can hit the floor in a percussive robust manner or caress it lightly; they can jump cleanly and lightly into the air; and spin with apparent abandon." |
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The Peggy Spina Tap Company: |
The Joel Forrester Quartet: | ||
| Peggy Spina | Joel Forrester, piano | ||
| Sarah Buscaino | Matt Garrity, drums | ||
| Laura Coleman | Dave Hofstra, bass | ||
| Maya Krishnasastry | Vito Dieterle, sax | ||
| Alison Manning | |||
| Misty Owens | |||
| Kathleen Voss | |||
| Katy Wood | |||
| Biographies | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sarah Buscaino, Dancer | ||
| Sarah Buscaino was born and raised in New York. She began her dance training at The American Theater Dance Workshop on Long Island under the direction of Madeline Dempster and Sophia Semler. She is currently pursuing a BFA in dance from Marymount Manhattan College under the direction of Katie Langan. There she has had the honor to perform works by Edgar Zendejas and William Soleau. This is Sarah's debut performance with the Peggy Spina Tap Company and she couldn't be more thrilled. She would like to thank her family and friends for their continued love and support. | ||
| Laura Coleman, Dancer | ||
| This is Laura’s sixth year performing with the Peggy Spina Tap Company. She studied various forms of dance at a local studio in her hometown of New Haven, Connecticut, from age four until her teen years. She began spending weekends in NYC to study with Peggy when she was 14 and then returned full-time when she began attendance at NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study in 2002. Laura studies and plays drums and sings in a New York-based rock ‘n roll band, Murder Mystery. She graduated from NYU with a concentration in dance and music, as well as psychology. She is currently studying at NYU Steinhardt School to earn a Master’s in Psychology. Laura wants to thank her family and Peggy for their love and support. | ||
| Maya Krishnasastry, Dancer | ||
| Maya began her dance training as a young girl at the school of the Eglevsky Ballet and the American Theater Dance Workshop on Long Island. She continued her studies at Marymount Manhattan College, earning a BFA in Dance in 2003. Maya is currently a member of RASTRO Dance Company and Oh Dear Dance Theatre, and has performed with Pat Catterson/Nine Lives and ellen stokes shadle/DanceWorks in the past. In 2005 she received an AOS in Massage Therapy from the Swedish Institute and she maintains a private practice as a licensed massage therapist. This past summer Maya taught modern dance at the Westside YMCA Arts Camp, and she has also taught semi-private tap classes for adult beginners. Maya has been dancing with the Peggy Spina Tap Company since 2003 and is excited to be a part of its 30th anniversary season. | ||
| Alison Manning, Dancer | ||
Alison Manning, originally from Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, graduated magna cum laude with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Art History, from Marymount Manhattan College, under the direction of Katie Langan. There Alison performed works by Robert Battle, Jennifer Muller, Twyla Tharp, Merce Cunningham, and Steven Petronio among others. She was selected in ’07 for the Contemporary Traditions program at Jacob’s Pillow, working with Milton Myers, Robert Moses, and Elaine Kudo. Ms. Manning is the General Manager and Director of Devolopment of The Yard, Inc. the 39 year old Martha’s Vineyard Dance and Performaing Arts Colony founded by the late Patricia Nanon. She dances in New York for the modern dance company Xodus Dance Collective, is a soloist with the Boston-based, inter-disciplinary Kinodance Company, under the direction of choreographers Alissa Cardone, Ingrid Schatz, internationally presented and acclaimed filmaker Alla Kovgan, and set designer Dedalus Wainright. She works as a freelance publicist, is on Faculty at Steps on Broadway, and guest teaches at The Yard, and The Performing Arts Center of Connecticut. This is her 5th Season with The Peggy Spina Tap Company. |
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| Misty Owens, Dancer | ||
| Misty has been dancing with the Peggy Spina Tap Company since 1993 performing in such venues as Jacob's Pillow, Town Hall, FIT, The New School and the Spina Loft. She received her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and she received honors from both the NYC Tap Festival naming her "Teacher of the Year" and was presented with a proclamation from Brooklyn Borough President, Marty Markowitz's office dedicating July 17th to her and her tap company, Fulton Feet Express, in celebration of their outstanding community service throughout Brooklyn. She presented her modern dance choreography at DTW on the Move-Judson Church, Jennifer Muller's The Hatch, and as part of the QCC Spring Dance Concert. Misty is currently living in Dallas, TX. teaching adjunct college dance classes, Dance for Parkinson's Disease classes at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, and she is Co - Director of the London School of Dance with Gwen Owens. She recently choreographed a tap dance for Marvin Hamlisch and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's Christmas Pops Show on dance students from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Misty is full of gratitude for all of the wonderful years of tap dancing with the Peggy Spina Tap Company, and is thrilled to perform in the 30th Anniversary show. Congratulations Peggy! | ||
| Kathleen Voss, Dancer | ||
| Kathleen began dancing with the Peggy Spina Tap Company in 2008 after studying with Peggy at Marymount Manhattan College where she is currently working toward her BFA in Dance along with Minor in Theatre. Kathleen grew up studying tap, ballet and jazz in Columbus, Ohio as part of the Straub Center and Otterbein College where she was given numerous performance opportunities. Aside from her studies, Kathleen recently fulfilled a life-long dream of being a Radio City Rockette as part of the first National Arena Tour. | ||
| Katy Wood, Dancer | ||
| Katy has been a proud member of the Peggy Spina Tap Company since 2002. She has performed on the North American Tour of 42nd Street and a USO Tour to the Mediterranean, as well as many regional musical theatre productions. Katy earned her BA in Dance from Barnard College and is currently pursuing certificates in Costume Design and Wardrobe Technician at the Fashion Institute of Technology. | ||
| Joel Forrester, Composer and Pianist | ||
| Joel is a one-time composition student of Thelonious Monk and has written more than 950 works for piano, voice and jazz combo. He co-founded the Microscopic Septet, recording and touring with them for twelve years. Joel's tune Fresh Air can be heard daily from coast to coast, as it is the theme song of the National Public Radio program of the same name. He shuttles between New York and Paris, leading bands in both cities. After recent concerts at The Louvre, he was hailed as the world's premiere accompanist to silent film. He has won the BMI prize for composition seven straight years. People Like Us, Joel's Quintet, has a new CD on Ride Label, Ever Wonder Why? Joel's solo piano can be heard at the Brandy Library, 25 N. Moore Street in Tribeca every Monday night. For updates, visit www.joelforrester.com. | ||
| Dave Hofstra, Bass | ||
| Master of the lower frequencies, Dave played for the Company in 1985 at the Marymount Manhattan Theatre and again on the Staten Island Ferry. He has played with The Micros and Joel Forrester forever. When playing with The Sewelsonics, one can hear that he is also a tuba virtuoso. | ||
| Vito Dieterle, Sax | ||
| Vito Dieterle has been gracing the stage since the age of 14 in and around the Chicago area. Since moving to New York in 1996 to study at the New School University with such jazz greats as Arnie Lawrence, Barry Harris, Benny Powell, Lee Konitz, Reggie Workman, Junior Mance, Chico Hamilton and others, he has been fortunate enough to work with many talented groups in NYC. Vito has been a featured soloist in groups at the Burlington Jazz Festival, Chicago Jazz Festivals, and numerous clubs and venues in NYC and around the country. He can be seen performing frequently with People Like Us and/or The Trust, led by prolific composer and pianist Joel Forrester. Vito can also be seen and heard with the brilliant singer/songwriter and all-around renaissance man Ethan Lipton all over town, and every Sunday evening from 10:00 to midnight at Little Branch with his own trio featuring the brilliant young pianist Ehud Asherie. Little Branch is located at 20 7th Avenue South at Leroy Street. See his profile at EthanLipton.com | ||
| Matt Garrity, Drums | ||
| Born in Ithaca, New York, drummer Matt Garrity attended William Paterson College’s jazz program, and has studied with John Riley, Rufus Reid, Carl Allen and Ed Shaughnessy. Since arriving in New York in 1994, Matt has performed with some of the best in the business, including alto saxophonist Vincent Herring, vocalist/pianist Teri Thornton, Jerome Richardson, David Williams and Ron McClure, among others. He is a full-time member of Joel Forrester’s People Like Us. Matt has performed all over New York in such notable venues as The Blue Note, Birdland, Smalls, Smoke and The Up Over Jazz Café. Garrity also leads his own band, ACTUAL TRIO, that performs extensively in the New York area, and has toured throughout the U.S. Their latest recording is ACTUAL TRIO LIVE. Matt is also involved in education and is currently a faculty member at The Turtle Bay Music School on Manhattan’s Upper-East Side. Visit www.mattgarrity.com. | ||
| James Buster Brown, Choreographer | ||
| Buster Brown, renowned for his unique style of B-bop tap dancing, began his career touring the vaudeville circuit with The Speed Kings. He performed in South America with the Cab Calloway revue, Harlem Express. In the sixties, he toured in Duke Ellington's Sacred Concert, and performed with Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie and the Copasetics. His broadway credits included Bubblin' Brown Sugar and Black and Blue. James Buster Brown passed away at the age of 89 in 2002. Every Sunday at Swing 46, Buster hosted an evening of improvisation, to which people came from all over the world for an opportunity to dance. | ||
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