PEGGY SPINA TAP COMPANY :: ABOUT THE COMPANY






	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."

	The Peggy Spina Tap Company:	The Joel Forrester Quartet:
	Sarah Buscaino	Joel Forrester, piano
	Laura Coleman	Matt Garrity, drums
	Amber Indyk	Dave Hofstra, bass
	Katie Schmus	Vito Dieterle, sax
	Emily Sindoni
	Peggy Spina
	Mary Kate Walsh

Biographies

Sarah Buscaino, Dancer

Sarah was born and raised in New York and went on to receive her B.F.A in dance from Marymount Manhattan College. Sarah is now thrilled to be performing with The Peggy Spina Tap Co. for her seventh season. Her other credits include: Regional: Memphis (Riverside Theatre, Walnut Street Theatre) Christmas Wonderland (Spirit Productions). Workshop: ONLY GOLD (Andy Blankenbuehler). Film: Annie: From Script to Stage (PBS). Concert: Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre, Dance Iquail. Sarah would like to thank her parents for their constant guidance and encouragement. Also, much love to her amazing family and friends for the massive amounts of support! Proud member of AEA. Learn more about Sarah at: www.sarahbuscaino.com

Laura Coleman, Dancer

Laura began dancing at age four in her hometown, New Haven, CT. She developed a passion for tap early on and began commuting to New York on weekends to study with Peggy when she was 13. She reconnected with Peggy years later when she moved to New York to attend NYU'S Gallatin School of Individualized Study in 2002 and she began dancing with the company shortly thereafter. This is now her 12th year performing with the Peggy Spina Tap Company. When she is not tap dancing, she is busy studying and will graduate from NYU's Steinhardt this spring with a Master's degree in Human Development and Social Intervention. She wants to thank her family and Peggy for their incredible love and support.

Amber Indyk, Dancer

Amber Indyk was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she began her training in dance at a young age of three. She then moved to New York to study at a college level and graduated magna cum laude from Marymount Manhattan College with a BFA in dance. Over the past few years, Amber has traveled and performed with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines where she performed in various styles of dance all over the world. She became dance captain after a few short contracts and trained to be a professional aerialist as well. Amber is now back in New York City as the Dance Administrator for Marymount Manhattan College pursuing her other passion within the arts administration world as she continues to dance and perform around the city.

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. It was there that she met Peggy, and she has been dancing with her ever since. Maya is also currently a member of RASTRO Dance Company, and has performed with Oh Dear Dance Theatre, Pat Catterson/Nine Lives, and ellen stokes shadle/Dance Works in the past. She has presented her own work with friend and co-creator Leigh Atwell for their company, Weltry Dance Company. In addition to dancing Maya has been a Licensed Massage Therapist since 2006, maintaining a private practice in NYC and Westchester. Maya would like to thank Peggy and her husband, family and friends for their love and support.

Alison Manning, Dancer

This is Alison Manning’s 11th season with the Peggy Spina Tap Company. Alison is the Executive Director & Co-Producer of The Yard on Martha’s Vineyard, and Co-Artistic Director of DanceTheYard (DTY), The Yard’s professional dance collective. She performs regularly with The Bang Group and DTY and has toured with Xodus Dance Collective, Boston-based Kinodance Company and Naomi Goldberg Haas. Her choreographic work has been presented at Triskelion Arts, Theater Lab NYC, and The Yard, and she teaches Horton technique classes as a guest teaching artist at Wesleyan University, NYU Steinhardt School Masters Program, Peridance Capezio Center, STEPS on Broadway, and on faculty at The Yard. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Marymount Manhattan College in 2008 with a BFA in Modern Dance and a Minor in Art History.

Emily Sindoni, Dancer

Emily Sindoni is from South Jersey. She grew up at Lowe Dance Studio where she started all types of dance at age 4. She joined their company, The Voorhees Ballet Theatre at age 8 and continued on to receive roles in their full length ballets such as Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Snow White in Snow White, and Swanilda in Coppelia to name a few. Emily spent summers studying with Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB), American Ballet Theatre NYC, The Pennsylvania Ballet, and Joffrey Ballet. In 2011 she was awarded the Francis L. Chaliff scholarship for tap through the Associated Dance Teachers of NJ. Emily left Jersey in 2014 to continue her studies at Marymount Manhattan College where she is a sophomore BFA Dance Major with a concentration in ballet. She is excited to join Peggy Spina in her tap debut and thanks her for the opportunity!

Katie Schmus, Dancer

Katie Schmus is thrilled to be performing for the first time with The Peggy Spina Tap Company. Katie has been dancing since she was 3 years old and trained in New Jersey at Lowe Dance Studio where tap quickly became her passion. She danced with the Pitt Dance Ensemble while attending the University of Pittsburgh and currently lives in Manhattan where she is completing her Masters degree in Speech Pathology at Columbia University. Katie has always loved tap and is extremely excited and grateful to be given this opportunity to dance again!

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.

Michael Irwin, Trumpet

Trumpeter and composer Michael Irwin grew up in New York City. Inspired by the sounds he heard throughout his youth, he studied Jazz at the Conservatory of Music at SUNY Purchase where he was the student of trumpet legend Jon Faddis. Michael has contributed to albums by The Chieftains, Vampire Weekend, Brazilian Girls, The Budos Band, and TV on the Radio. A presence on the vibrant New York Jazz and new music scene, he has played in ensembles led by Kenny Wollesen, Federico Ughi, David White, and others. Michael leads the Highline Jazz Quartet, a group exploring the American songbook and jazz canon, as well as The Brooklyn Bears, a trio that plays original and improvised compositions.

Vito Dieterle, Sax

Vito Dieterle started playing around Chicago at the age of 14. He has been a featured soloist at the Burlington and Chicago Jazz Festivals, and in venues all around the U.S. and Europe.

In New York, he is closely associated with composer-pianist Joel Forrester , and he leads his own quartet frequently around NYC along as being called as a sideman for numerous projects.

Vito is a 10 year veteran of Ethan Lipton's fine band Ethan Lipton and His Orchestra with whom he has recorded 5 albums and has won an Obie award for his work both performing and co writing the show 'No Place to Go'

Vito studied at the New School with jazz greats such as Arnie Lawrence, Barry Harris, Benny Powell, Lee Konitz, Reggie Workman, Junior Mance and Chico Hamilton among others.

He has also opened two new venues in the past year. "Stop Time" in Bedford Stuyvesant Brooklyn located at 1223 Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn NY. And "The Django" located in the cellar level of the Roxy Hotel ( Formerly The Tribeca Grand hotel )

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.