The Skylark Tappers

Dancers

"Spotlight on Tap" Guest Artists

	Elizabeth Abel fell in love with tap just before her 2nd birthday watching Judy Tibbles teach, enduring an agonizing wait until she was old enough for dance classes at age three. By the time she was five, Elizabeth was winning national awards for her tapping skills. Now six, she trains in all forms of dance with tap by far her favorite—what could be better than dancing and making noise at the same time? Elizabeth is grateful for the training and support she receives at MVP Dance Elite and has a special thank you for her first teacher, Michelle Miner. Future plans include attending master classes and learning cursive. Dancing with the Skylark Tappers is the highlight of Elizabeth’s young career.
	Caroline MacDonald is a sophomore at Arts and Communication Magnet Academy in Beaverton and a member of the school’s pre-professional dance company, Dance West. She has been tap dancing for five years and has studied with many teachers including Terry Brock, Heather Cornell, Acia Gray, Sam Weber, Linda Sohl-Ellison, Diane Walker, Brenda Bufalino, Judy Tibbles, and Anna Smith. Caroline has also participated in the San Francisco Tap Festival and Vancouver Tap Festival in Vancouver B.C. In addition to tap, Caroline enjoys all forms of dance and studies ballet at The Portland Ballet and is a member of their Youth Company.
	Hannah Muncie has been tap dancing since the age of 7 and has never given it up. This is the first tap performance since 2006 and she is really excited to be coming back. She has taken numerous tap master classes from Terry Brock, Dianne Walker, Jason Samuels-Smith, Heather Cornell, Acia Gray, Cholly Atkins, and many others. When Hannah is not tapping she is heavily involved with the Theatre Department at Clackamas Community College where she currently a sophomore and getting her Associates Degree. Hannah also enjoys ballet, playing the piano, and singing. Hannah is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre and has a dream of one day performing on Broadway. She would like to thank her mom for being her taxi and taking her to every tap class and her Father for giving her the gift and talent of singing, dancing, and acting.
	Lorraine Sheahan worked as a professional tap dancer for 52 years! She spent 4 years in vaudeville, 1 ½ years with the USO, and 2 years with the U.S. Marine Air Corps where she was in charge of entertainment for the 9^th Corps area during World War II. Lorraine also served as President of Lorraine Sheahan Dance Schools, Inc., where she taught for 38 years. She has been a member of the Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA for many years and has appeared in television commercials for Burger King, Payless, Winn-Dixie Beef, Fred Meyer and Miller Paint (to name just a few!) Lorraine performed with the Oregon Senior Theater in 1986-87. She also has several modeling and photo credits, and she worked as an extra in the film, “Homer and Eddie” starring James Belushi. Lorraine was married for 58 years and now enjoys dancing with her daughters and grandchildren. She also enjoys golf, piano, reading, and wine-tasting.
The Skylark Tappers
	Emma Berman has been tap dancing for fifteen years and has studied with Sally Mack where she competed in the state Dance Magic Competition, earning first place overall in 2001. She most recently studied under Judy Tibbles at Hollywood Dance Studio. In addition to her dance experience, Emma has been involved in theatre since the age of 9. She has worked for numerous local theatre companies including Broadway Rose, Musical Theatre Company, Northwest Children’s Theatre, and Lakewood Theatre Company, and has several commercial and film credits. She graduated from Grant High School in 2002, where she was a member of the Royal Blues Chamber choir. She finished her B.A. in Theatre Arts from the University of Puget Sound and recently began the Graduate Teacher Education Program through Portland State to teach high school Language Arts and Theatre.
	Joanne Breen has enjoyed tap dancing for more than 30 years. In an effort to keep in shape (for tap dancing), she bicycles, does aerobics, and also performs with another local group, the Portland Tap Connection. Joanne grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba and started tapping at age 17. Her Portland area tap teachers have included Sally Mack, Cindy Brenn, Judy Tibbles, Ruth Sanborn, and Cherie Cheney Nomura. Joanne and her husband Victor have two beautiful daughters, Samantha and Kathy. She is also the owner of several beloved pairs of tap shoes!
	Alison Chapman got hooked on tap in a Portland Civic Theater class with Dottie Fields. She went on to take classes with many of the greats: Bunny Hatch, Deb Brzoska, Claire Halsted, Sally Mack, Terry Brock, and Annie Ellet; finding inspiration in them all. She also has had the opportunity to study with a number of tap masters—Brenda Bufalino, Eddie Brown, and Dianne Walker being favorites. She put dance aside while her kids were young. Now she is grateful to Judy Tibbles and the Skylark Tappers for the opportunity to switch her tap dancer status from “former” to “avid.”
	Patti Fisher has been a member of the Skylark Tappers for 20 years. She has studied tap locally with Cindy Brenn, Terry Brock, Vicki Mills, and Judy Tibbles; and in the past year, she has been fortunate to take master tap classes from the following: Heather Cornell, Acia Gray, Max Pollak and Fred Strickler. In her younger days, she enjoyed performing in the chorus in numerous local musical theatre productions, and now smiles while watching others perform in musicals. Interests other than tap include travel and knitting. Professionally, Patti is the Administrative Manager at Brown and Caldwell, where she has worked for the last 13 years.
	Rachel Fleming is a native of Portland, OR where she started tapping at the age of 4. Her mentors throughout the years have been June Taylor-Dixon and Lou and Patti Richards in Portland, as well as Janet Descutner in Eugene. In addition to tap, Rachel's dance training also includes ballet, jazz and modern dance. She trained at June Taylor's School of Dance, San Jose State University and the University of Oregon where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance in 2002. Rachel is the Assistant Director of June Taylor's School of Dance in Tualatin where she manages the school and teaches ballet, tap and jazz. Rachel hopes to pass on her enthusiasm for tap to her students and is thrilled to be a member of the Skylark Tappers.
	Erika Johnson hails from Seaside, Oregon and has her Master Practitioner Certifications in Pilates and Yoga. She is also certified in Group Exercise, Elderly Fitness, Aqua Fitness, and as a Nutrition Advisor. In addition, she has been in the dance field for over 25 years and now shares her passion for dance through teaching. She teaches Creative Dance, Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Hip-Hop. Erika has performed with the Bolshoi Ballet and Lake Erie Ballet Companies and has won several dance awards and certifications in Oregon and the Midwest. She was recently one of the first teachers to go through the Oklahoma City University Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Arts Management American Dance Master Teacher Pedagogy Workshop.
	Katie O’Hara studied jazz dance and piano as a child, but she fell in love with tap dancing in 1993 when she saw Portland's own Jefferson Dancers perform a tribute to Charles “Honi” Coles. She enrolled in classes the following week and has been tapping ever since! Katie has danced with the Skylarks since 1998. She’s studied tap locally with Terry Brock, Judy Tibbles, Sally Mack and Cindy Brenn. Katie has also taken classes from a number of tap masters including Linda Sohl-Ellison, Dianne Walker, Lane Alexander, Heather Cornell, Leonard Reed and Max Pollak.
	Karen O'Keefe began tap dancing at the age of 7 when her mother enrolled her in Miss Kitty’s School of Dance in Philadelphia . The seeds were well planted. Over the years Karen has taken classes in modern and jazz dance but she always returns to her favorite – tap dance. In 1995 she dusted off her shoes to learn rhythm tap and wants to thank Tony Loupe, Aaron Wheeler-Kay and Terry Brock for their dedicated instruction. Karen has also studied with Johnson & Peters in Seattle and has taken workshops taught by Brenda Bufalino, Lane Alexander and Linda Sohl-Ellison. She been dancing with her friends in The Skylark Tappers since 1999 and enjoys making audiences smile.
	Susan Ruddock is an original Skylark member who has been tapping for 35 years. Her love of dance goes way back to before she started any formal training in high school. With numerous productions on her resume as a singer, dancer, actor, choreographer & assistant director, it’s the theatre that highly influences her tap style. Suz has participated in a variety of show business activities: judge for county fair’s talent showcases, featured in local commercials, tapped at Broadway Rose Theatre’s Birthday Party (of which she is a Guild Member), & dance instructor. This past year, Suz spearheaded the festivities for Portland’s National Tap Dance Day. Suz’ tap career has been influenced by her interactions with Cholly Atkins, Steve Condos, Heather Cornell, Acia Gray, Anthony LoCasio, Max Pollak, Fred Strickler & several other renowned tap masters. In her daily life, Suz wears many hats: wife, mother, bookkeeper, fitness instructor, singer/percussionist/assistant director & arts volunteer.
	Cindy Stabel is the newest member of the Skylark Tappers. She has a varied dance history that includes tap, jazz, ballet, belly dancing and ballroom. Cindy began her performance career in high school plays and musicals and had the opportunity to tour Europe as a member of the Love Tour in the 1970s (high school students representing a singing festival in Vienna). She has classical vocal training which helped her to participate in state solo singing contests, and later she became a member of the Norman Leyden Singers and the Al Anderson Trio. She was also first and second runner up in the Miss Oregon pageant for 2 years. She currently studies with June Taylor and Sarah Rigels, and has performed in the Nutcracker for 6 years with the Classical Ballet Academy. When not dancing, Cindy designs handbags that she sells through local boutiques, and is the president of NW Dance Theater.
	Victor Torres has been dancing with the Skylarks since 1995. He has an extensive background in tap, swing, folk, and flamenco dance. Victor has performed with various companies in California, most notably Jim Taylor’s Rhythm Rascals, Swing Shift, Dunaj International Folk Ensemble, and Ecos de España. In the Northwest, he appeared in Carmen with Opera Theater Corvallis and has performed with Amor España and Morca’s Flamenco in Concert. By day, Victor works for Intel as a Software Development Manager.

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