Name: VanTap Presents: Encore 2025 - A Tap Dance Concert
Start: 2025-08-08T20:00:00-07:00
End: 2025-08-08T21:30:00-07:00
Location: Annex

VanTap Presents: Encore 2025 - A Tap Dance Concert

To celebrate tap dance and related cultural arts as vehicles of learning, human expression, and thriving communities.We do this through ourDance Academy, theVancouver International Tap Dance Festival,TapCo, our Youth Performance Ensemble andOutreach Programs.

Vancouver Tap Dance Society

Some of the world’s most captivating tap dancers onstage with live music. Expect dazzling solos, raw emotion and ridiculous fun!

Annex

VanTap Presents the VITDF: Summer SeriesEncore - Friday, August 8th | VanTap Festival ConcertWhat happens when some of the world’s most captivating tap dancers are asked a deeply personal — and hilariously strange — question:“If you could call a tune for someone else, what would it be, and why?”Think: Tap Dance Karaoke, but with soul, spontaneity, and storytelling.In Encore, Martin “Tre” Dumas III, Joel Hanna, Jessie Sawyers, Riley Skworoda, Jeffrey Dawson, and special guest Matisse Quaglia come together for an unforgettable evening of rhythm, heart, and humor.Featuring live music from the Dean Thiessen Trio, and tied together with the playful wit of Joel Hanna, Encore dives into the joy and vulnerability of improvisation. These longtime friends and artists swap songs, share stories, and explore the deep connection between music, memory, and movement — all through the language they speak best: Tap Dance.Expect dazzling solos, raw emotion, ridiculous fun, and unexpected moments that will leave you laughing, moved, and inspired.Let us dance for you.The Cast:Martin "Tre" Dumas IIIJoel HannaJessie SawyersRiley SkworodaJeffrey DawsonMatisse QuagliaThe Dean Thiessen TrioSpecial Guest Musician - TBAAbout The Cast:Tre:Martin “Tré” Dumas III is a commanding presence in the world of tap — a powerhouse performer, generous educator, and soulful storyteller whose artistry resonates as deeply as his sound. Hailing from Chicago’s South Side, Tré began his dance journey at Tommy Sutton’s Mayfair Academy of Fine Arts, where he not only trained but also taught his very first classes. He later earned a B.A. in Mass Media Arts from Clark Atlanta University, with a concentration in Speech and Theatre Arts — bringing both intellect and theatricality to his work on stage and in the classroom.Since 1995, Tré has been a dynamic force in the international tap scene, regularly teaching and performing at major festivals including CHRP’s Rhythm World, the L.A. Tap Fest, St. Louis Tap Festival, Third Coast Rhythm Project, North Carolina Rhythm Tap Festival, China International Tap Festival, and the Vancouver International Tap Dance Festival. He co-founded the Chicago Tap Summit and continues to be a respected voice and presence in rhythm communities across the globe.Tré spent over three years touring North America and Europe with Riverdance the Show, dazzling audiences with his power and musicality. In 2001, he partnered with Bril Barrett to co-found M.A.D.D. Rhythms and the M.A.D.D. Rhythms Tap Academy, setting a new standard for tap education and community-driven artistry in Chicago. That same year, he completed a six-month artistic residency in Stuttgart, Germany.In 2006, he delivered a fiery performance as a tap-dancing preacher in Dance Like David, part of Derick Grant’s Imagine Tap!, and co-starred with Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards in the acclaimed indie film The Rise and Fall of Miss Thang. He was also featured alongside R&amp;B star Mýa on Secret Talents of the Stars, and worked with Jason Samuels Smith’s ACGI. Tré later created the groundbreaking Chicago-based tap ensemble Jus’LisTeN, featuring Jessica Chapuis, Nico Rubio, and Lisa LaTouche.In 2014, Tré sang and danced in Night Cap at Vancouver’s Fox Cabaret with Joel Hanna and Danny Nielsen, followed by a three-month residency with the Vancouver Tap Dance Society. His performances and teaching have taken him across the U.S., Canada, Germany, Europe, South America, and Asia.But the only thing bigger than Tré is his heart. His warmth, generosity, and unwavering passion for the art form have inspired thousands — whether onstage, in the studio, or in conversation. Above all, his greatest joy is his daughter, Lauren, and the chance to share rhythm, history, and love through tap dance with people around the world.Joel:Joel Hanna is a world-renowned dancer, choreographer, and artistic leader, hailed as “one of the most exciting dancers to ever step on the world stage.” Known for his powerful, genre-defying fusion of tap, Irish dance, musical percussion, and martial arts, Joel has captivated audiences in legendary venues around the globe, performing for dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth II and United Nations diplomats.Praised as “breathtaking” by the BBC and “utterly winning” by The New York Times, which also named him a “Pick of the Year,” Joel has shared the stage with icons such as Pete Seeger, Andrea Bocelli, Charles "Cholly" Atkins, Jimmy Slyde, Dianne Walker, and The Black Eyed Peas.His international touring credits include Riverdance: The Show, as well as a feature in the CBC/Riverdance documentary The Badboy and the Hometown Girl. He starred in London’s West End production of Dancing on Dangerous Ground, and has performed at Radio City Music Hall and the Royal Variety Performance.For four years, Joel choreographed and headlined as lead soloist in Fire of Dance, appearing on more than 200 stages annually. He also created Revolution: Sweat, Dance, Rock &amp; Roll, which premiered at New York City’s Joyce Theater. A two-time soloist at the prestigious Jacob’s Pillow Concert Series, Joel now serves as Executive Managing Director of the Vancouver Tap Dance Society and Artistic Director of The Vancouver Spring Show.Joel’s passion for social impact through the arts shines in his acclaimed project Fighting For Change, which inspired Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, to say: “He is being the change we all wish to see in the world.”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 international performer, award-winning choreographer, and passionate tap educator with over 15 years of teaching experience. Originally from Edmonton, Alberta, she holds a BA in Recreation, Sport, and Tourism from the University of Alberta, with a focus in dance and drama. In 2019, she relocated to Vancouver, where she serves as Competitive Program Director and Choreographer at the Vancouver Tap Dance Society.Riley’s training includes The Rhythm Summit by Tapmotif in Greece (with Heather Cornell, Max Pollak, and Thanos Daskalopoulos), the Escola Luthier Advanced Tap Program in Barcelona under Guillem Alonso, and The Jimmy Slyde Institute with Roxane Butterfly. She performed across Europe, including the Montpellier Tap Festival in France. She also attended Nicholas Young’s Institute for The Rhythmic Arts in Chicago and was a six-time attendee—and two-time theme class instructor—at the Stockholm Tap Festival. Additionally, she spent two transformative summers at Heather Cornell’s Tap Labs in NY.Riley has performed at The Works Art &amp; Design Festival, Feats Festival of Dance, Kinesis, Nextfest, with The Don Berner Big Band, and in “Singin’ &amp; Swingin’!” featuring Ted Louis Levy &amp; The Toronto Jazz Orchestra. She created and performed the 2017 Edmonton Fringe show “A Dance Journey: Travelling in Time.” In Vancouver, she’s been featured in many shows including “Let Us Dance”, “Outstanding: A Celebration of Women”, “Shake The Earth: Taiko &amp; Tap”, and “Isolation/Inspiration.”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.Matisse: Matisse is a Vancouver-born tap dancer whose roots run deep with the Vancouver Tap Dance Society. By the age of 16, he had performed everywhere from street corners to the Kennedy Center—and even at the 2010 Olympic Opening Ceremonies. After refining his craft in Barcelona and at Studio 58, Matisse now shares his passion for tap with the next generation while raising his three children. Guided by a love of rhythm and human connection, he aims to inspire that same joy in both seasoned tap lovers and first-time audiences alike.

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VanTap Presents: Encore 2025 - A Tap Dance Concert

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