Tapology Festival for Youth is in its 10th year!

Ten years of providing arts and physical activity programming to youth in the Mid-Michigan community. This past decade has produced hard times certainly for families in the state. Imagine the plight of our young people who have limited opportunities to explore or discover their own talents. Imagine the frustration of energetic children with no outlets as schools are forced to further cut back on arts and physical activities.

Tapology is a youth centered program that seeks to expand the horizons of our young people through the arts, by exposing them to both peers and legends who have made something of their dreams; who may inspire these youth by instilling self confidence through development of exceptional ability.

Donations to Tapology enable opportunities for youth to training in dance throughout the year.

Tapology has established programming that taps into the heart of what young people love to do. That is dance! Disciplined dance, taught by masters, demanding excellence, hard work and commitment, developing character traits that will enable these students to survive in any economy.

In 2011, more than 50 students proved this out by training for several months in order to appear on stage with the Tapology Concert's visiting artists including international dance personality Dianne Walker.

Tapology has become one of the most important sites for Tap in our nation, attracting the best performers in the world, including such living legends as Savion Glover, Arthur Duncan, Dianne Walker and Mable Lee; benefitting our youth even more.

The art of tap dance in Mid Michigan has launched professional dancing careers of many local youth, who have represented our state on stages throughout the world.

Tapology offers several programs for students.

The Summer Tap Intensive has provided an advanced and intense week of training for more than 100 young people in Mid Michigan and beyond for more than 6 years. Students audition for places in Tapology’s Youth Ensemble following intensive training, then further their skills in rehearsals up to the Tapology Concert in October. Training for students is free of charge. Sponsored in part by James A. Welch Foundation, MCACA through their re-granting agency the Greater Flint Arts Council and Rotary Club of Greater Flint Sunrise.

The Walker Collins Project is building a repository of the routines and techniques of 6 specific routines performed by Dianne Walker and Leon Collins. This body of work, to be taught to young people, will only exist here in Mid Michigan.

Community Outreach Programs offer introductory dance training for young people in their own communities. This pilot program offers extended, year round dance classes in schools, churches, and community organizations. Beginners take classes free of charge, where they can benefit from the same lessons that instill personal discipline, self confidence and horizon broadening as the students of advanced dance. Sponsored in part by community donations.

Tapology's Outreach Programs go into limited opportunity communities to teach students who have never had formal dance training.

Tap workshops from beginning to advance professional and senior level instruction will be available as well from Friday Oct 26th – Sunday Oct 28th at the Flint Institute of Music.

The largest project, Tapology's Fall Festival, hosts more than 750 public school students for a day of tap dance. These students get to take a workshop lead by the visiting artists who will perform in concert, and a historical lecture by well respected curator/historian Daniel Dawson. At the end of their day, students attend a short version of the Tapology Concert.

In 2011 our schools program filled in less than 5 days. The summer training program filled to 120 students in less than 2 weeks. These programs are offered to students at no charge, though they must make the commitment to regular attendance and to give their best effort.

This year through the generous efforts of the Ruth Mott Foundation, all new donors will be matched on 1 to 1 basis, and all previous donors increased giving will be matched. This means your dollars will allow more young people to participate and build those character traits that will determine what kind of adults they will become.

Will you help us meet our goal to continue and expand this programming for youth?
Your support matters.

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