SOUTHEASTERN TAP EXPLOSION, INC. (STEP) is a non-profit corporation established in 1996 to bring Master Tap Teachers to the Southeast on a regular basis. Its goal is to promote tap and to increase the understanding and appreciation of tap as an art form. The members of the board of directors are: Ruth Ann Blackwell, Pat Bloodworth, Carolann Borggaard, Sandi Friedman, Dena Herdt, Laurie Kotz, Leslie Jablow, Mitch Jablow, Beverly Resnick and Birda Ringstadt. All directors and volunteers are unpaid, and STEP is dependent upon your tuition fees to meet expenses. As a non-profit corporation, your donations to STEP are tax-exempt (under the limits of tax law), and we welcome such support.

For Tap Explosion #13, we are proud to present the following Master Teachers:

SKIP CUNNINGHAM's experience as a tap dancer covers many decades. As a professional his mentors were Prince Spencer of The Four Step Brothers, Honi Coles, Cholly Atkins, Pete Nugent, all of the Copacetics, and Henry Letang. Skip has shared the stage with Pearl Baily, Donald O'Conner, Gregory Hines, Jason Samuels Smith, Arthur Duncan, Chester Whitmore, Frankie Manning, Norma Miller, Chazz Young, Diane Walker, Sam Weber, Bunny Briggs, Buster Brown, Jeni Legon, The Nicholas Brothers, Jimmy Slyde, Savion Glover, and many more. Skip has taught tap dance all over the world. TV credits include the Ed Sullivan Show, the Smothers Brothers Special, the Tonight Show and 32 appearances on the Merv Griffin show. He has performed on Broadway (George M., Eubie, Golden Boy, Evolution of the Blues), in such movies as The Cotton Club, Tap and The Detective, and on the theater stage (Stalag 17, Arsenic and Old Lace). His Love for the art of tap dance has fulfilled a childhood dream to share the art of tap dance with anyone who may be listening and watching. We are Proud to have Skip here for his first Tap Explosion!l

BARBARA DUFFY is "one of the most inventive tappers around today," said the late Gregory Hines. Barbara's performance highlights include The Gregory Hines Show where she was a featured Dancer, actor and Choreographer; Gala for the President, where she preformed with Gregory Hines before President and Mrs. Bill Clinton and a dance captain for Brenda Bufalino's American Tap Dance Orchestra. Barbara performs regularly as a featured soloist across the United States and overseas, including London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. Barbara Duffy & Company, her own company of all women tappers, is currently touring their concert, Stages which is being developed into a full length theatrical production. A highly sought-after teacher, Barbara has taught at workshops and festivals in 15 countries. Barbara is based in New York City, where she teaches regularly at Broadway Dance Center. Her greatest inspirations are Leon Collins and Brenda Bufalino. We are delighted to welcome Barbara to her second Tap Explosion!

DEWITT FLEMING, JR. graduated from Marymount Manhattan College with a B.A. in acting. His stage credits include (off Broadway) 27 Heaven, Dutchman, Highlights in Jazz, Tribute to Tap Legends, Richard III, Finnegan's Farewell and the Equity Showcase production of Dance Bojangles Dance, in which he played the lead. He is an acclaimed tap dancer and has performed throughout the United States and abroad. He is the host and also co-creator of the off-Broadway hit Broadway Underground. DeWitt has danced as a soloist with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and with Artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon, Eric Reed and Suzanne Douglas. DeWitt is also a Percussionist. He plays the drum set for numerous artists throughout the Tri-state area. He is dance captain for the New Jersey Tap Ensemble and the Co-Chair/Director for the New York City Tap Extravaganza. We are Happy to welcome DeWitt to his first Tap Explosion!

ANDREW NEMR, an experienced soloist, has performed in various venues nationally and internationally. Andrew has performed alongside many Jazz greats and on Harry Conick Jr.'s Only You Tour. He most recently has been the featured tap dancer with the Duke Ellington Orchestra presenting Duke Ellington: The Sacred Concerts. As a founding member and dance captain of Savion Glover's TiDii, Andrew was featured in the critically acclaimed Improvography at the Joyce Theatre, NY, the opening ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival 2001, the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, the 2002 Winter Olympics Arts Festival, and the 2002 Nijinsky Awards in Monaco. Andrew was also the only tap dancer to be featured in La Nuit De Hip Hop (A Night of Hip Hop) in Grenoble, France, as part of the dance collective World Soul with Brian Greene. In his efforts to continue to champion the art of tap dance, Andrew co-founded, along with Gregory Hines, the Tap Legacy Foundation, Inc., which produces The Annual Finger Lakes Tap Dance Festival. Andrew is an Advisory Board member of the New York Committee to Celebrate National Tap Dance Day and is a card-carrying member of the original Copacetics, Inc. Andrew has been blessed to receive the guidance of many of the great tap dancers including Eddie Brown, Harold Cromer, Dr. Bunny Briggs, Dr Jimmy Slyde, Dr. James "Buster" Brown, Leroy Myers, Ernest "Brownie" Brown, Henry "Phace" Roberts, Dr. Henry LeTang, Mable Lee, Tina Pratt, Dianne Walker, Savion Glover, Ted Levy, and Gregory Hines. Andrew performs regularly with the legendary Les Paul at the Iridium Jazz Club, NYC, and is on the faculty of Steps on Broadway, NYC. Andrew holds a BFA in Computer Art from the school of Visual Arts and is certified in the Active-Isolated Flexibility System by the Wharton Performance Group. We are pleased to welcome Andrew to his first Tap Explosion!

GERMAINE SALSBERG has been on the faculty of Broadway Dance Center for almost 20 years. Her students include cast members of Broadway shows, national tours and tap companies, as well as people who simply “love to tap.” Currently on the faculty of NYU’s Musical Theatre Program at Steinhardt School of Education, she has also taught for Cap 21 and has privately coached stars from the dance and film worlds. She is a frequent guest teacher throughout the USA, Canada, Europe and Mexico, and has taught for Dance Masters, Dance Educators, NYC Dance Alliance and NAADA. As assistant to Tony Award Winner Danny Daniels, she worked for the program which trained the child dancers for the Broadway and tour productions of The Tap Dance Kid.We are thrilled to welcome Germaine to her 3rd Tap Explosion!

DIANNE “LADY DI” WALKER is one of the few internationally recognized women in the field of Tap Dance. As a pioneer in the resurgence of tap, she is a frequent guest artist at many major events in the world of dance. For over 20 years her career has taken her to Broadway, television, the theater and numerous universities and jazz performance venues throughout the world. She recently toured with Savion Glover in his concert show Footnotes, which also featured Jimmy Slyde, Buster Brown and Cartier Williams. Dianne holds a Master’s degree in Education and was a participant at the Dance USA/National Task Force on Dance Education. She has been awarded grants from the New England Foundation for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council and The National Endowment of the Arts. In 1996, she represented the United States as an Adjudicator for the World Tap Dance Championships held in Dresden, Germany. In Boston in 1997, she received the Tapestry Award for excellence in teaching. In 1998, she received the Living Treasure in American Dance Award from Oklahoma City University. She has also received the Savion Glover Award for Keeping the Beat Alive, presented to her in St. Louis in August 2001. Dianne was a featured dancer in the movie Tap with Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis, Jr. She was a featured dancer (and chorus girl) in the original Paris production of Black and Blue. In the Broadway production of Black and Blue, she was the Assistant Choreographer/Dance Captain. During those two years, she also had the prestigious honor of being the only female dancer in the famed “Hoofers Line” with Lon Chaney, Jimmy Slyde, Chuck Green and Bunny Briggs. She currently lives in Boston and was appointed by the Governor to a seat on the Board of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. She is the Artistic Director of Tappin’ in Boston and continues her work as a performer, Master Teacher and dance educator/consultant. We proudly welcome back “Lady Di” for her eighth Tap Explosion!