*** FEATURED ARTIST ***

Arthur Duncan was born to dance. A highly visible performer, he is often referred to as an Entertainer's Entertainer, thrilling audiences around the world. He is a quintessential song and dance man, whose performances are a lively collection of sophisticated footwork and wonderful songs. Arthur was a regular on the Lawrence Welk Show and was the first African American to be hired as a regular cast member of a weekly variety TV show. Arthur was a featured personality in the movie "Tap" starring Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis, Jr. In 2003 he starred in the short film "Tap Heat", which was screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival and won the Urban World Film Festival in 2004. Arthur was the recipient of the 2004 Flo-Bert Award for Lifetime Achievement of Tap Artistry in New York City. Arthur is a dedicated mentor and shares his spotlight experiences through lecture demonstrations and master tap classes. One of the most entertaining performers of today, Arthur Duncan's seamless blend of song and dance continues to make a significant contribution to the artistic legacy of dance and entertainment.

Scott Breadman (Percussion) began playing percussion in Saint Louis, MO.  Unable to afford pots and pans, he started out playing dirt and rocks, which eventually led to an interest in gardening.  Since then, Scott has appeared on numerous television and film soundtracks, and has played with such diverse artists as Jose Feliciano, Peggy Lee, Rick Braun, Jeff Golub, Willie and Lobo, Rick James, Lindsey Buckingham, Merv, and Tap Dogs.  Scott also has recorded with Jeff Golub and Avenue Blue, Willie and Lobo, David Benoit, Pat Benatar, Mason Williams, Poe, Peter White, The Cult, Korn, The Beach Boys, Bryan Savage, Brian Bromberg, Rick Braun, Macy Gray, and Morphine.  Other memorable experiences include playing with Mickey Hart at the Sands in Las Vegas, and then leading the audience through the casino and out onto the strip.  Scott currently appears with the Rippingtons.

Ayodele Casel has toured internationally as the only female member in Savion Glover's company, N.Y.O.T.s. She has had the honor of performing at The White House twice for President Bill Clinton, Carnegie Hall as part of a tribute to the legendary Nicholas Brothers, Radio City Music Hall for ABC Television and Madison Square Garden as a soloist during the halftime show of a New York Liberty game. Ayodele starred in and directed three sold out, solo tap concerts in New York City . She has closely worked with and performed with the greatest tap dancers including the late great Gregory Hines. As a member of N.Y.O.T.s (Not Your Ordinary Tappers) she was featured in "Savion Glover's Nu York", "Monday Night Football" and on an off-Broadway stage in Downtown: Live Communication. Ayodele has presented works for Lincoln Center "Out of Doors", Joyce SoHo, Dance Theater Workshop, The Triad Theater, Joe's pub at The Public Theater among many others. She currently serves on several dance faculties, including Steps on Broadway.

Channing Cook-Holmes studied with L.A. based dancer/choreographer Alfred Desio, performed in the Barcelona, Spain Festival, received a Brody Grant to study with the renowned Fayard Nicholas, and was awarded the 2002 Princess Grace Award for artistic excellence. Channing joined Jazz Tap Ensemble in 1997 and toured for one year before joining the European and national cast of Riverdance. That led to a full year on Broadway in Riverdance. Film credits include Bojangles with Gregory Hines for Showtime and Martin Scorcese's Gangs of New York. Channing returned to LA and the concert stage with Jazz Tap Ensemble in the Summer of 2002, performing on tour, in LA, and at New York's Joyce Theater.

Larry Dunlap (Piano) is at home in jazz, classical and popular styles of music. He lives in the San Francisco area with his wife Bobbe Norris, a renowned jazz and cabaret vocalist.  Larry has appeared with the British vocalist Dame Cleo Laine since the early 1980s and has performed extensively with many other well-known musical artists including Mark Murphy, Sheila Jordan, Art Farmer and The Pointer Sisters.  He has composed music for small and large jazz groups, chamber and symphonic orchestras and is in demand as an arranger and pianist in a variety of contexts.  Larry's recordings include several CDs of music by the Cape Verdian composer Amandio Cabral.  With his wife he has a record company which has released several of their own recordings, most recently Bobbe Norris' "Out Of Nowhere".   Larry is the music editor for Sher Music publications, publisher of jazz fake books and educational materials.  He teaches jazz piano and vocal at Mills College . He has also served as music consultant to Gordon Getty.

Edward Jackson, a native of Detroit, Michigan, started his tap career back in 1998 after seeing Savion Glover on the Gregory Hines show. Inspired by the happiness, freedom, and passion of tap, Edward went and got some shoes and the rest is history. Edward made his television debut on Showtime Live at the Apollo in July 2001, and followed up with an appearance on 30 Seconds of Fame in June 2002. Recently, Edward filmed a commercial for the San Francisco International Film Festival, which has aired repeatedly on KQED. Edward has also danced in Berkeley at Club La Pena and at countless other outlets such as Nordstrom’s and the Opera House in Hunter’s Point. Edward credits veteran rhythm tapper Alfred Robinson in Oakland for helping him develop his own style of rhythm tap. That style, which he calls “Spirit and Soul tap dancing”, is what he shares with thousands of people for hours nearly ever day on the streets of San Francisco. He now defines himself as a revolutionary independent artist using art for social change in the community, and emphasizes that we show the children that there is always a way to make it in this world – that all they have to do is try really hard and believe in themselves.

Jerry Kalaf (Music Director) has been an active performer for 30 years and has appeared on concert stages and in jazz clubs around the world with such diverse artists as The Pointer Sisters and conductor Lalo Schiffrin. As a sideman, Jerry's Jazz credits include Eddie Harris, Gary Burton, Gary Foster, Frank Strazzeri, Milcho Leviev, Bill Mays, Bill Perkins, Jimmy Cleveland, and Major Holley. Jerry has toured Europe, Asia, South America and the United States as musical director of the Jazz Tap Ensemble and has accompanied Gregory Hines at the Apollo Theater and in concert at Carnegie Hall.

John Kloss started to tap inspired by early performances of tap on film, and gained his first training in Chicago with many of tap’s masters. John has performed as an ensemble member and soloist with the Los Angeles based Jazz Tap Ensemble, where he appeared in concert repertory works of Gregory Hines, Jimmy Slyde, and others. John has also danced with Especially Tap Chicago, and as a founding member of the Swift Brothers and the Chicago Tap Authority. He has danced in productions featuring tap greats such as Jimmy Slyde, Savion Glover, the Nicholas Brothers, and Arthur Duncan, among others, and in events honoring the Nicholas Brothers, Four Step Brother Maceo Anderson, and Peg Leg Bates. John has appeared as "the Guide" -- dancing the role originated by Baakari Wilder -- for the Universal Arts production of the Beat in San Francisco, and can also be seen in the short film Tap Heat, choreographed by Danny Daniels. John currently serves as director for the Bay Area Tap Festival, and draws continued inspiration from the many incredibly gifted performing artists in the tap community.

Jim Santi Owen has been involved in the San Francisco dance community as an award winning composer and performer and co-directs the Indian percussion ensemble Tabla Rasa, with whom he produced San Francisco's first Festival of Sacred Drumming, Dance, and Song in 1998.  As an educator Owen has extensive experience working with students ranging in age from pre-school to the post-graduate level and beyond.  In Drum and Dance, students will use bucket drums (provided) and tap dancing to explore the integration and intersection of rhythm in tap, jazz, and traditional Indian music.

Robert L. Reed is the founder and Executive/Artistic Director of the internationally renowned St. Louis Tap Festival (www.tapheritage.org), which is now in its 14th year.  Mr. Reed is proficient in teaching many styles of tap and is the protege of Maceo Anderson, a founding member of the Four Step Brothers dance act.  Mr. Reed has also toured with Riverdance as dance captain, with Cab Calloway, and has opened for such luminaries as Sammy Davis Jr., Jerry Lewis, Redd Foxx, Cher, the Smothers Brothers, and David Hasselhoff, just to name a very few.  Reed was a featured artist at the Peg Leg Bates Resort, and appears in the critically acclaimed Peg Leg Bates documentary Dancin' with the Peg.  He performs and travels worldwide with his daughter Robin and son Robert III, and hosts his own television show in Japan named Robert Hall, which recently featured Quentin Tarantino and Brittany Spears as guests.  August 3rd is Robert L. Reed Tap Heritage Day in St. Louis as declared by the Honorable Mayor Clarence Harmon.

Marcus Shelby (Bass) has been playing the acoustic bass for 23 years. In this time, he has built a diverse and accomplished biography.  Shelby was bandleader of Columbia Records and GRP Impulse! Recording Artists Black/Note and is currently the Artistic Director and leader of The Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra, The Marcus Shelby Septet and the Marcus Shelby Trio.  In addition, Shelby holds an instructor position at the Berkeley Young Musician Program, San Francisco State University and the Stanford Jazz Workshop and is the 2006 Fellow in the Resident Dialogues Program of the Committee for Black Performing Arts at Stanford University .  As the 1991 winner of the Charles Mingus Scholarship, Shelby ’s studies include work under the tutelage of composer James Newton and legendary bassist Charlie Haden.  Recent honors include the City Flight Magazine 2005 award as one of the “Top Ten Most Influential African Americans in the Bay Area”.

Sam Weber has gained an international reputation as a performing artist and is in demand throughout the world as a performer, master teacher, and choreographer. His versatility has led him to performances in musical theater and television, where he has worked with such stars as Burt Lancaster, Bob Hope, Andy Williams, Raquel Welch, Pat Boone, and Sara Vaughn. He can be seen often on the Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood television show. Mr. Weber is one of the few tap dancers in the world currently performing Morton Gould's Tap Dance Concerto and was the first tap dancer to receive a Bessie, presented in recognition of outstanding creative achievement. He has been a principal dancer and choreographer with the Jazz Tap Ensemble since 1986 and has received international acclaim touring with the company. In June 2003, the Tap Ahead Festival in Duesseldorf, Germany featured Mr. Weber in the world premier of SignADiapunktur, a new composition for two tap dancers and percussion ensemble, by composer/tap dancer Andreas Daenel.