In 2001, veteran tap dancer and producer Tony Waag welcomed audience members to the inaugural Tap City, the New York City Tap Festival, strumming a ukulele and singing “Dream a Little Dream of Me.” That dream of a successful festival became reality, and now Tap City will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a special concert running May 19–24 at The Joyce Theater in New York City.
Tap City previously took what seemed to be its final bow in 2023, ahead of the announcement the following year that its parent organization, the American Tap Dance Foundation, would be downsizing. “I was feeling for a little while that the company itself needed some new blood,” says Waag, who founded the organization, previously known as the American Tap Dance Orchestra, with Brenda Bufalino and Charles “Honi” Coles in 1986. The challenges of finding a successor and managing financial woes in the wake of the pandemic prompted the difficult decision to retire the festival and shutter the American Tap Dance Center, a prime location for tap classes and rehearsals in New York City. “It needed a boost at a time when there wasn’t going to be a boost,” Waag says.
Tony Waag in one of American Tap Dance Foundation’s Sound Check programs. Photo by Debi Field, courtesy Waag.
Those wood floors weren’t neglected for very long. Susan Hebach, who directed ATDF’s youth program and its acclaimed Tap City Youth Ensemble for 18 years, quickly took over the Greenwich Village studios and opened Tap Dance Central in September 2024. “The space was really important to a lot of people,” says Hebach. “There are very few places in New York City where you can go tap.” Tap Dance Central, which now has a 10-year lease, has become a major asset to the percussive-dance community at a time when many tap-friendly floors in Manhattan have disappeared. “We can offer classes at a lot of different levels, from age 5 to 85, and we can do events that other places don’t have time to invest in,” Hebach says.
Although Tap City was also known for its classes and special events—such as a cruise around Manhattan and an outdoor show in Times Square—this year’s anniversary festivities won’t reach the same scale. “I want to concentrate on a really good show,” Waag says.
The cast for the Joyce performances features tap stars who appeared frequently at the festival, such as Jason Samuels Smith and Karen Callaway Williams, alongside other percussive artists, such as Oregon’s Terry Brock and Washington, DC’s Ryan K. Johnson. “I always try to balance a little history with what people are doing on the scene today,” Waag says. The limited engagement will honor many of tap’s greats, with DeWitt Fleming Jr. paying tribute to Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and Michelle Dorrance performing “My Mind’s on Mingus,” passed to her by Bufalino. Waag himself plans to perform “I’m Just a Lucky So-and-So,” a tune that was a highlight of Gregory Hines’ turn in the Broadway show Sophisticated Ladies. Audiences can expect new works, as well: Lisa La Touche’s “Intersections” draws inspiration from Louis Armstrong, while tap-dancing drag queen Xana DuMe will offer a fresh take on the Hall & Oates hit “Maneater.” Anthony Morigerato will bring a new spin—literally—on concert tap, dancing on a rotating stage.
Audiences will also enjoy a pre-show video with footage compiled from a quarter century of festival experiences. “I want to make sure people understand the magnitude of the festival,” Waag says.
ATDF maintains its nonprofit status so that Waag, now living in Pennsylvania with his husband, Mark, can work on various projects to preserve and present tap dance. Last fall, he revived the Tap City Awards for a one-night event at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, which he hopes to do again.
For now, though, he’s content reflecting on 25 years of a dream come true: “I would never say it was easy, but I’m very proud that I brought a lot of people together.”
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