Faculty
Nancy Newell
Tap
Nancy Newell has been teaching dance for more than 40 years and has a background in theater from Northwestern University. She has taught internationally as well as throughout the United States. During her career, she has choreographed more than 30 musicals. Newell is a driving force is the D.C. metropolitan dance community. Most recently she spearheaded the Metro-DC Tribute to Gregory Hines. In 1998, Newell was curator of the Smithsonian series, The Women of Tap with special guest Ann Miller. In 1999 she coordinated the Smithsonian series, The Legends of Tap with Rusty Frank, Fred Kelly, and special guest Baakari Wilder. She co-sponsored the 1999 DC MetroTap Festival and has sponsored the Washington, D.C.- area TAP FEST program for the past nine years. In 2002 and 2003, Newell performed and taught Master Classes in the Czech Republic where she represented DC in the The Prague, DC, Philadelphia Tap Festival. In 2006 she returned to Prague to help celebrate National Tap Dance Day with tap dancers from around the world. In 2004, Newell traveled to Bergerac, France to teach workshops at Ecole de Danse Desha/Simone Moulin and then to Kiev, Ukraine, to teach master classes at Volodomyr Shpudeiko's Jazz Tap Dance Studio. Newell opened DC Dance Collective in June of 1999 as a center for creativity and collaboration. Nominated for the 2007 Metro DC Dance Award (MDCDA) in the category: "Outstanding Achievement in Dance Education".
| Day | Time | Class | Level | Instructor | Age Level | Enrollment Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | 4:30pm-5:30pm | Tap | Beg I/II | Nancy Newell | 6-8yrs | E |
| Mon | 5:30pm-6:30pm | Tap | Beg II/Adv Beg | Nancy Newell | 7-10yrs | E |
| Tue | 11:00am-12:00pm | Tap | Beg II/Adv Beg | Nancy Newell | A/T | D/E |
| Tue | 12:00pm-1:00pm | Tap | Adv Beg/Int | Nancy Newell | A/T | D/E |
| Tue | 1:00pm-2:00pm | Tap | Int/Adv | Nancy Newell | A/T | D/E |
| Tue | 6:30pm-7:30pm | Tap | Beg/Adv Beg | Nancy Newell | A/T | D/E |
| Tue | 7:30pm-8:30pm | Tap | Beg II/Adv Beg | Nancy Newell | A/T | D/E |
| Tue | 8:30pm-9:30pm | Tap | Int/Adv | Nancy Newell | A/T | D/E |
| Thu | 10:00pm-11:00pm | Tap | Beg/Adv Beg | Nancy Newell | A/T | D/E |
| Thu | 11:00pm-12:00pm | Tap | Adv Beg/Int | Nancy Newell | A/T | D/E |
| Thu | 12:00pm-1:00pm | Tap | Int/Adv | Nancy Newell | A/T | D/E |
| Sat | 1:00pm-2:00pm | Broadway Tap | Beg/Adv Beg | Kay Casstevens/Nancy Newell | A/T | D/E |
| Sat | 2:00pm-3:00pm | Broadway Tap | Int/Adv | Kay Casstevens/Nancy Newell | A/T | D/E |
| Sun | 11:00am-12:00pm | Tap | Beg I/II | Nancy Newell | A/T | D/E |
| Sun | 12:00pm-1:00pm | Tap | Beg II/Adv Beg | Nancy Newell | A/T | D/E |
| Sun | 1:00pm-2:00pm | Tap | Adv Beg/Int | Nancy Newell | A/T | D/E |
| Sun | 2:00pm-3:00pm | Tap | Int/Adv | Nancy Newell | A/T | D/E |
Tap
Nancy Newell
Beg I/II Tap Classes:
These classes will begin with a warm-up working on technique, dexterity and terminology. This warm-up will prepare the student for the combination to follow. Classes will focus on tap as a percussive art. Students will work on structure as well as improvisation. These classes will accommodate the complete beginner as well as students who have tap experience and wish to work on individual skills such as timing and phrasing. Students will learn to find their own "voice" within the class orchestration. Students will learn to establish a musical outline with rhythms that can be expanded to meet individual students skill level. Class will include background information about the different styles of tap and tap history. We will work on such classics as the Shim Sham, Soft Shoe and the Honi Coles Stroll. The class will be taught in a rhythm tap format with information and comparisons to Broadway tap. With over 40 years of tap experience, Nancy Newell has over 20 years of Broadway tap experience and over 20 years of rhythm tap experience. Students will be encouraged to make personal choices. It is my goal to teach people to be tap dancers and artists in their own right. This will be accomplished in a relaxed and fun atmosphere where the stresses of our everyday life can be left behind while we celebrate movement and sound.
Beg II/Adv Beg Tap Classes:
These classes will be structured in the same way as the Beg l/ll classes. Please see the above description. We will also build and work on choreography that will be developed throughout the semester. Students will work on both technique and rhythmic expression within the frame of choreographed combinations and phrases. This will allow us to focus on transitions, memory and presentation. Students should have a solid base of technique with at least one year of tap. Students will be encouraged to define their own individual style. We will work on dynamics and musical phrasing while creating orchestration with poly-rhythms and overlapping rhythms as well as unified sounds. The goal of this class is to enjoy the artistic process of growing as a tap dancer.
Int/Adv Tap Classes:
These classes will begin with a warm-up that will relate to the material for class and will be structured in a similar way as Beg I/II and Beg II/Adv Beg classes. Please see the above descriptions. Students in these classes must be able to pick up combinations and phrases quickly as well as retain combinations. Students must have strong technical skills. During each term students will learn an entire piece of choreography and work on developing performance skills. Students will on occasion have an opportunity to perform. This is a class where students will be asked to focus on personal artistic development and phrasing as well as work within group orchestration.
Tap
Monday 4.30 & 5.30pm - Nancy Newell
Children will learn basic tap technique and terminology. The students will learn about tempo, dynamics and musical counting and theory in a fun and relaxed class. Emphasis will be placed on tap as a musical discipline learning rhythms with drums and dance games. Class will focus on structure and improvisation. Students will work on using their feet to express themselves. There will be opportunities for both informal and formal performances.
Broadway Tap:
Broadway tap is what one sees in classic American musical movies and in most Broadway shows. It emphasizes both the rhythm of the step and the style/look of the step by including choreographed arm movements with some steps. Stars like Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly, and Shirley Temple have made this style popular.
Saturday 1pm
This class is for those with very little or no tap experience and will focus on the basics. Students will learn a common vocabulary of tap steps and use these steps in routines.Saturday 2pm
This class will build upon students existing tap knowledge and help gain added technique and musicality in creative routines.