Florida is known for many things, but did you know that we are home to a large tap dance community?
In order to draw attention to these percussion-based moves, Kayla Cowart, who has been tapping since she was 2, created the inaugural Dunedin Tap Dance Festival.
On Sept. 15, stop by the
Patricia Ann Dance Studios and the
John Lawrence Pioneer Park for tap dance workshops (all dancers are welcome) to see them in action.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will honor the unveiling of a sculpture depicting their dolphin mascot “Rhythm,” joining the other sculptures along Pinellas County’s Dolphin Trail.
And the afternoon will include tap dance performances by the Tap Dance Ambassadors of Florida as well as dancers from Tapped In, Truth Tap Company, the Rhythm and Sole Tap Ensemble, and Patricia Ann Dance Studio’s competitive team.
“I would just like to bring more attention to the tap community here through this festival because I just love tap and people really think of cities like NY and Cali when they think of tap, but Florida can really be thought of in the same light. We’re trying to create a landmark of tap to this part of Florida,” says Cowart, who is the founder of the Tap Dance Ambassadors of Florida, the Florida Dance Project, and the Dunedin Tap Dance Festival who has been appropriately dubbed the “Tap Girl of Florida.”
Cowart explains that she wants this festival to become an annual event, hoping to one day expand it into an international tap dance festival held on Clearwater Beach.
To find out more information, click on this link:
Dunedin Tap Dance Festival and the Florida Tap Dance Project website.
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