DANCE Studio LIFE - November 2007 Article
January 10, 2008
Have you ever wished you could bring in a master teacher without having to pay for airfare? Now, with the launch of Tap the Map, you can treat your students to classes from three tap teachers as they travel through your area. Tap the Map is the brainchild of three former Tap Dogs buddies, Anthony Russo, Danny Wallace, and Donovan Helma. The idea came about, explains Russo, because it’s expensive for studios to fly teachers out for master classes. “We teach at conventions, and studio owners would tell us, ‘If you’re ever in town, we’ll bring you back to teach.’ So we thought we’d be in town so that studios wouldn’t have to fly us out.”
At press time, the trio was planning to hit the road in a 12-passenger van (unless a last-minute sponsor springs for an RV) on September 29 for a 30-day trial run of the project. They’ll start in Long Island, NY, then head down to Florida, through Georgia and Mississippi, then up to Michigan and Wisconsin and as far north as Toronto. So far they’ve got 12 to 15 studios lined up. If this first trip is successful, they plan to target other areas of the country for future tours. “We’ll spend a month to a month and a half at a time on the road, then regroup and advertise for the next tour,” says Russo. “After this trip we’ll target an area, like the West, and send press releases to schools in the area.”
The three tappers will each offer classes at up to three levels—Russo teaches rhythm tap and hip-hop; Wallace, theater tap; Helma, tricks and slides. Rates are $30 per class per student or $65 for all three. The studio pays a one-time fee of $125, “basically to cover our gas,” says Russo. “If they booked flights, it would be $700 to $900.” A minimum of 20 students per level is required in order to schedule a class, so if a school can’t provide that number, the Tap the Mappers encourage the owner to open the classes to other local studios.
Beside the classes and choreography, says Russo, “we put on a show for the kids right there in the studio, so they get a taste of what we do. Then after the show we give out scholarships.”
