Philadelphia Tap Dance Festival History (A Work-in-Progress, written by pamela hetherington)

In May 1996, Beverly (Wasser) Rolfsmeyer, an original member of Jane Goldberg’s Sole Sisters Company, produced the first National Tap Dance Day Festival at a playground in South Philadelphia. In 1997 and 1998, Beverly joined forces with Peggy Leiby to create a small production company called “Philly Tap.” In these years, the Festival celebrations took up a whole weekend and expanded to a few locations around the city, including the steps of the Art Museum, the CEC, Penn’s Landing and the Painted Bride. The lineup grew to include tap dance legends LaVaughn Robinson, Germaine Ingram, Henry Meadows, Jane Goldberg, Buster Brown and Jimmy Slyde. Mayor Ed G. Rendell published a City Proclamation in May of 1998 calling Philadelphia “The Capital of Tap Dance.” In 1999 and 2000, Tap Team Two and Company produced the Festival events at the Arts Bank, the Gallery Mall, the Painted Bride and the CEC.

In interim years, Robert F. Burden, Jr. conceptualized his event, “24 Hours of Tap,” on National Tap Dance Day, during which he would tap dance on Broad Street and other locations for a full 24 hours in honor of tap dance.

From 2003 to 2014, Philly Tap Challenge “On Fire” was produced by Jaye Allison and presented by New LEJA Dances and The Philadelphia Civic Ballet. Classes, events and concerts occurred around the city at the University of the Arts, the Performance Garage, the Kimmel Center, the Arts Bank, the CEC, and Gwendolyn Bye Dance Center. Invited tap dance luminaries included Maurice Hines, the Nicholas Sisters, LaVaughn Robinson, Rusty Frank, and more.

In 2016, Jim Hamilton produced the Philadelphia Rhythm Festival at Rittenhouse Soundworks. This festival was a 3 day event featuring master classes, workshops and performances in Drums, Percussion, Tap Dance, and Body Rhythm and featuring Dormeshia, Jason Samuels Smith, Dormeshia & musicians Loire Cotler and Glen Velez.

Pamela Hetherington produced large-scale National Tap Dance Day Festival celebrations from 2016-2019, under the auspices of a grassroots organization called “The Philadelphia Community Tap Project.” Spanning such locations as the Singing Fountain in South Philadelphia, the Shambles at Headhouse Square, City Hall Courtyard and Girard Avenue, in 2019, the project was awarded a commendation from the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives for its work to bring tap to North Philadelphia.

In November 2023, the Brewerytown Tap Dance Festival was produced by the Philadelphia Jazz Tap Ensemble and had a commitment to the legacy and future of Philadelphia tap dance. With a focused energy on North Philadelphia music and dance history and just steps from the John Coltrane House, the festival enlivened and invigorated many important locations in this historic North Philadelphia neighborhood, with a closing concert headlined by Germaine Ingram and Diane Monroe.

A new generation of tap dancers now carries the torch of traditional and innovative Philly Tap inspired by the legacy of LaVaughn Robinson. The upcoming Philly Tap Fest is produced by Taptastic Network LLC. The administrative team includes Brian Davis, Karen Cleighton, Corinne Karon and Kathryn Schweingruber. Inspired by Tap master Robert Burden of Tap Team II and innovator Conner Kelly, this new festival strives to be a haven for the greater Philadelphia Tap community. The first annual Philly Tap Fest will be a weekend of educational classes for all ages, jazz jams, community hangs, showcases, historic walks, talks, and more!