Channing Cook-Holmes (Music Director/Drums) -- An Inglewood, CA native representing the West Coast, Channing Cook Holmes is blessed with talents that have taken him around the world.  His drumming ability, his syncopated rhythmic tap dance style, his singing, and his natural audience appeal, have taken Channing from dance company (Jazz Tap Ensemble), to stage (Riverdance, tour and Broadway), to small screen, (Bojangles), to big screen, (Gangs of New York).  His is the consummate entertainer.  Channing is adding directing and producing to his repertoire with the production of his current, award winning children's show Lil' Chan Can Tap Dance.  Channing Cook Holmes is a "must watch" artist with more to come... Cookin' will incorporate a fast paced approach geared toward helping dancers move through advanced phrasing.  Got Rhythm? will help students of all levels develop more ease with impromptu dancing and their own musicality.  Says Channing, "It's not what is written, but what you'll experience."

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 appeared in the short film Tap Heat, as an ensemble member and soloist with Jazz Tap Ensemble and Especially Tap Chicago, as a founding member of the tap duo The Swift Brothers, and in festival productions such as the St. Louis Tap Festival, the Chicago Human Rhythm Project, and the Maui Tap Experience.  John has also been a featured performer at San Francisco 's Bay Area Dance Awards.  Inspired also by the many incredibly gifted performing artists and variety of styles in tap, John’s interests have led to a performing resume that includes a notable list of tap artists and work in a wide range of settings.  He has performed in concert ensemble choreography of Gregory Hines and Jimmy Slyde, in film choreography by Danny Daniels and Jason Samuels-Smith, with Samuels-Smith in early incarnations of the group ACGI (“Anybody Can Get It”), as “the Guide” in the Universal Arts production of the Beat in San Francisco (a role originated by Baakari Wilder), and in numerous events alongside many of today’s top tap artists.  John has also appeared in festival and other events honoring such luminaries as the Nicholas Brothers, Four Step Brothers Maceo Anderson and Prince Spencer, Peg Leg Bates, Arthur Duncan, and Michael Jackson, and at national conferences of corporations such as Wal-Mart and AT&T.  In 2003, John established the California nonprofit STEPOLOGY, San Francisco’s Bay Area Tap Festival, and the festival’s concert performance component, the Bay Area Rhythm Exchange.  In his roles as founder, director, and performing artist, John’s efforts have led to programming which has twice been listed in the San Francisco Chronicle’s “Top Ten Dance Performances of the Year”, earned an “Access to Artistic Excellence” grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and been described by the San Francisco Bay Times as invoking “…an appreciation of tap’s history while inspiring an excitement for tap’s present and future.”  In the Acappella Rhythms class, students will use only their own taps to dance and make music in a variety of grooves.  Technique class will feature fast-paced combinations and exercises designed to help provide a strong technical foundation and geared toward both teachers and students alike.

Deborah Mitchell proudly celebrates 13 years as Founder and Artistic Director of New Jersey Tap Dance Ensemble.  This St. Louis native is known throughout the New York area as a distinguished tap professional. She is the protégé of Leslie “Bubba” Gaines of the Copasetics and student of many tap masters including Broadway Choreographer Henry LeTang.   Her many credits include "The Cotton Club" Motion Picture, Broadway and Paris Productions of Black and Blue, PBS Great Performances, 5 international tours with the legendary Cab Calloway, and a partnership with Philadelphia native Germaine Goodson as The Rhythm Queens.  In recognition of National Tap Dance Day 2006, Savion Glover presented Ms. Mitchell with an award for giving tirelessly to the spirit and legacy of tap dancing.  In March 2007, Dean John Bedford and Jo Rowan, Dance Department Chairman of Oklahoma City University, Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Arts management presented her with the Living Treasure Award “for preserving our American culture in her feet, in her mind and in her spirit.”  In May 2007, Ms. Mitchell was chosen by The New York Committee to Celebrate National Tap Dance Day as one of the Flo-Bert Honorees and in July 2007, she received The Hoofer Award from the American Tap Dance Foundation.  Tap TIPS will help dancers discover some of the nuances of tap artistry, Fundamentals will be a timeless study of essential skills for students of all levels, and in Me and Mr. Gaines, Ms. Mitchell will share the choreography and style of her teacher Leslie "Bubba" Gaines of the Copasectis.  Ms. Mitchell's "One" Master Class is an excellent class for choreographers and students, utilizing precision and rhythm tap in a chorus of dancers, and the "Every Little Step We Take" Master Class will focus on adapting and listening to changes in patterns of rhythms.

photo:  Eduardo Patino

Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards has been a part of almost every major Tap movie or show that has appeared in the history of tap dance since the 80's.  She was most recently nominated for the best actress and currently stars in the award-winning independent film "The Rise and Fall of Miss Thang"  which continues to tour film festivals.  In addition to opening the Harlem Tap Studio in NYC, Mrs. Sumbry-Edwards continues to appear as a special guest for shows and festivals around the world.  She was also elected to the Advisory Board as the Tap Advisor for Dance Magazine and the official Tap Spokesperson for Capezio along with her family, as well as being featured in their international advertising campaign.  Mrs. Sumbry-Edwards' career includes acclaimed runs on Broadway and off-Broadway in shows such as Black and Blue, the Tony Award Winning Bring in Da' Noise, Bring in Da' Funk, International Tour of Bring in Da' Noise, Bring in Da' Funk (dance captain/principal dancer/understudy to the lead role), and Imagine Tap! (featured soloist).  Other performances include the national tour of Wild Woman Blues and Debbie Allen's SAMMY (the life and times of Sammy Davis Jr.).  Film credits include "TAP" with Gregory Hines, Spike Lee's "Bamboozled" (Assistant Choreographer), and "The Rodgers and Hart Story:  Thou Swell, Thou Witty".  Mrs. Sumbry-Edwards' choreography has been featured in TAAP:The Art and Appreciation of Percussion and was also utilized in Michael Jackson's music video "Rock Your World".  She was also spotlighted in a commercial for Tops and is currently filming for MTV's hit television series MADE.  Old School will take a look at traditional tap material, New School will explore the sensibilities of tap dancing from today and beyond, and Fundamentals will be a timeless study of essential skills for students of all levels.  Dormeshia's "Singular Sensation" Master Class will focus on developing an individualized approach and flair in your own dancing, and the "One Thrilling Combination" Master Class will build an exciting extended combination.

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.  Rudiments begins the day with technical exercises inspired by the late Steve Condos, and Mixed Bag features an overview of common tap styles and grooves.  This year's Classic Routine will be a study of the Copasetics' "Bill Robinson Routine" and will include 3 sessions devoted to following in the footsteps of this legendary dancer.  Students will perform the routine in the Community Showcase on Sunday.

 Special Guests (additional Special Guests TBA):

The Barbary Coast Cloggers have toured in the United States and Canada, including performances at the New Orleans and Vancouver World's Fairs and C.L.O.B. Nationals in Nashville and San Diego, have opened for bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs and country western superstars Brooks & Dunn, and have won an Isadora Duncan Dance Excellence Award (Izzy) for best ensemble performance.  Got Clog? will be taught by Ian Enriquez and will get everyone in touch with some of the roots of tap dance -- clogging!  Also known as American step dancing, clogging is America's first folk dance.  Clogging is a combination of step dances from Scotland, Germany, Africa, Cherokee, and more, and is truly a celebration of the diversity of American culture!

Sista Kee (Piano) lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she spreads the Word of God through song.  Also known as Kito Gamble, this multi-talented young lady is a pianist, rapper, composer, producer and a singer.  Her father, the late Jim Gamble, began giving her piano lessons at the tender age of 3.  He and her mother, legendary vocalist Faye Carol, provided a rich musical environment for the young musician to develop her craft.  Although she began to make guest appearances to standing room only crowds when she was 10 years young, her music career officially began at the age of 16 - a pianist & composer gaining international recognition in primarily the blues & jazz genres.   While performing with Faye Carol and leading her own group, she has also shared the stage with seasoned veterans Albert King, Pharaoh Sanders, Billy Higgins and Bobby Hutcherson, as well as young phenomenal musicians, Brandford Marsalis and Roy Hargrove.

Manu Smith teahces Lindy Hop at the 9:20 Special in San Francisco and many workshops around the globe, and has made Lindy Hop appearances on CBS's Good Day New York, NBC's Garth Brooks Christmas Special, and PBS's Swingin' With Duke with Wynton Marsalis.  In Got Swing? students will learn a fun routine choreographed by Manu and based on vernacular dance shared by tap, swing, and jazz, while learning moves and styles developed by masters of swing Al Minns, Frankie Manning, and Leon James.