VTDS Presents: Encore 2024

VanTap Presents the VITDF: Summer Series

Jason Samuels Smith, Joel Hanna, Jessie Sawyers, Riley Skworoda, and Jeffrey Dawson come together for this very special presentation that shares performances by and conversations with some of the most extraordinary dancers in the world who, at different places in their lives/careers, are asked the very abstract question “what if you could do that one again?”

We've all felt what it's like to walk away from something; a conversation, a project, or an encounter thinking " I wish I just...". For dancers, leaving a stage that way is a kind of torture we put on ourselves. But it is also the sentiment that drives us to practice and pursue that perfect expression.

So, what if they had another chance? What would they do differently and why? What happened? Was it external circumstances or was it internal?

Come witness the insight into the hearts and minds of the long time professionals and virtuoso outliers, with their stories of struggle, perseverance and triumph from voices not typically heard. Then translated into the language that they express themselves with the loudest… Tap Dance.

With a live band (The Dean Thiessen Trio), hosted by Joel Hanna, and danced with joyfully open hearts, let us give you a wonderful night of incredible dance, wonderful music, stories and copious amounts of laughter.

let us dance for you.

The Cast:

Jason Samuels Smith

Joel Hanna

Jessie Sawyers

Riley Skworoda

Jeffrey Dawson

The Dean Thiessen Trio

Special Guest Musician - TBA

A bout The Cast

Jason:

Jason Samuels Smith, born and raised in New York City to professional performing arts parents Sue Samuels and JoJo Smith, began his illustrious career early on through Frank Hatchett's Professional Children's Program at Broadway Dance Center. His talent shone brightly with early appearances on Sesame Street and at just 15 years old, he served as an understudy in the Tony Award-winning Broadway production Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk.

Jason's career skyrocketed with numerous accolades, including an Emmy and American Choreography Award for his outstanding work on the 2003 Jerry Lewis/MDA Telethon. He is celebrated for founding the First Annual Los Angeles Tap Festival in 2003 and has been honored with "Jason Samuels Day" proclamations in various cities. His contributions extend across film, television, and stage, highlighted by roles in Tap Heat and Idlewild, as well as collaborations with Debbie Allen and performances at prestigious venues worldwide.

Beyond his remarkable performing career, Jason is a trailblazer in tap education, establishing programs at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy and creating innovative tap dance companies like A.C.G.I. and JaJa Productions. His influence is felt globally through his choreographic contributions, advocacy for tap dance as an art form, and his own line of Bloch shoes.

Jessie:

Jessie Sawyers is a Seattle-based tap dancer, producer, entrepreneur, artist, educator, cultivator of community, believer in our youth, life lover, and music maker. She began tap dancing at the age of eleven under the direction of Cheryl Johnson and Anthony Peters. She has had the honor of studying with tap masters Arthur Duncan, Dianne Walker, and the late tap greats Cholly Atkins, Gregory Hines, Fayard Nicholas, and Jimmy Slyde.

Taking her knowledge and subsequent experience, Jessie has created 5 evening length shows that blend tap with live music. At the 2012 Vancouver International Tap Festival it was “Women in Tap” for which she wore the simultaneous hats of director, creative visionary, choreographer, filmmaker, and performer. Her prior shows were presented in Seattle at venues including the CanCan, the Georgetown Ballroom, Egan’s, and the Triple Door.

Whatever the project, Jessie seems to have a knack for bridging the gap between idea generation and manifestation which enables her to share her ideas and spirit with the world. She currently serves as the creative director for the Seattle Tap Collective, The VIMM Project, and DIG dance instigators group.

Riley:

Riley Skworoda is an accomplished international performer, an innovative dance educator, and a highly respected original choreographer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alberta, with a focus in dance and fine arts.

She is originally from Edmonton, but relocated to Vancouver in 2019 to join the VTDS. She has a passion for travel and studied tap dance internationally in the Escola Luthier’s Advanced Professional Tap Training Program in Barcelona, Spain and trained intensively with Roxane Butterfly at The Jimmy Slyde Institute. She attended The Rhythm Summit in Lefkada, Greece, Nicholas Young’s Institute for The Rhythmic Arts in Chicago, Illinois, and spent 5 years at the Stockholm Tap Festival in Sweden with two of those as an instructor. She summers at Heather Cornell’s Tap Labs in Valley Cottage, NY and considers Heather to be one of her main inspirations as she grows as a tap dance artist.

She has danced The Works Art & Design Festival, Feats Festival of Dance, Kinesis, and Nextfest. Has had the pleasure of performing with The Don Berner Big Band and was in the show “Singin’ & Swingin’!” Featuring Ted Louis Levy & The Toronto Jazz Orchestra. Before VTDS, her favourite project to date was in 2017 when she produced, choreographed, and performed in “A Dance Journey: Travelling in Time” for the Edmonton International Fringe Festival.

Joel:

Called “one of the most exciting dancers to ever step on the world stage,” He is a world-renowned dancer and choreographer known for his athletic and boundary-breaking mixture of tap dance, musical percussion, Irish dance, and martial arts. He has lived something of an entertainment fairy tale, performing all over the world in legendary venues and for dignitaries from Queen Elizabeth II to United Nations diplomats.

Having been praised as being “Breathtaking” - (BBC) and “Utterly Winning”- (New Tork Times), he was also selected by the NY Times as “Pick of the Year”, and as a performer, shared the stage with legends such as Pete Seeger, Andrea Bocelli, Charles "Cholly" Atkins, Will Millar, Jimmy Slyde, Jeni LeGon, Dianne Walker, The Black Eyed Peas and many more.

He toured with Riverdance: The Show, and was selected to be the subject of a CBC and Riverdance documentary The Badboy and the Hometown Girl. After two seasons, he left to perform in Dancing on Dangerous Ground in London’s West End, Radio City Music Hall, and the Royal Variety Performance.

For four years, he choreographed and starred in the production Fire of Dance as lead soloist on more than 200 stages a year. He created Revolution: Sweat, Dance, Rock & Roll , which debuted in NYC at The Joyce Theater during its 25th anniversary. and was a soloist at the Jacob's Pillow Concert Series for two years in a row and is the Executive Director for The Vancouver Spring Show

Arun Gandhi, grandson of the Mahatma Gandhi Said, “Joel Hanna is being the change we all wish to see in the world” for creating “Fighting For Change”.

Jeffrey:

Jeffrey is one of the hottest young tap dancers on the rise today from Vancouver, BC. An alumnus of the Vancouver Tap Dance Society's youth company TapCo, he has performed on both the local and the international stage. In 2019, he performed in the award-winning show "The Souls of Our Feet" with Tapestry Dance Company in Austin; with Jason Janas's Co.MMIT at the Chicago Human Rhythm Project; and in Danny Nielsen's production "On Foot" in Vancouver. Jeffrey is also an alumnus of the 2019 Tap Program at Jacob's Pillow, and as part of the program was given the opportunity to present his own choreography in a show at the prestigious Ted Shawn Theatre. More recently, Jeffrey was commissioned to create a 35-minute set of choreography for the Vancouver Tap Dance Society’s show “Let Us Dance” in the summer of 2021, performed as a bandleader at Vancouver’s 2nd Floor Gastown in May 2022, and was commissioned by the Vancouver Tap Dance Society to create another original work in the summer of 2022.

His scalpel like technique and the authentic generosity with which he wields it has made him one of the most sought after talents in the tap dance community world wide and this year is the “Artist in Residence” at the coveted Orange County Tap Festival in California. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch The Jeffrey Dawson Trio charming audiences all over the city.

Host or Publisher Vancouver Tap Dance Society