As part of furthering our student's education CSA in conjunction with the Tappindiana group are bringing in Michele Ribble from New York City for a two day intensive seminar to teach the stair dance. This stair dance has been part of the Tappindiana routine that has been shown to schools throughout the area. While in the past part of the movie "The Little Colonel" was shown to audiences where this dance was first presented, Tappindiana will now be able to present the stair dance live and in person.

michele ribble biography

Award winning choreographer, Master instructor, producer, dancer, and coach has spent a lifetime working in classical ballet, tap dance, musical theater, and jazz. She has choreographed for both stage and screen including: assistant choreographer for the film "Beetlejuice", several Off Broadway shows, and has choreographed numerous “gag” acts for the Garden Brothers, Right Bros. and Bentley Bros. Circuses. Other credits include work for Jacob's Pillow, HBO, Miramax, Circuit Productions, Hanna-Barbera and MTV. As lead dancer and choreographer for the Tommy Sands Revue she has played every town from NY to WA and has had the privilege of sharing the stage with an amazing roster of talented individuals. Michele has danced as a member of the NYC Company, Ronn Forella and the Second Century Dancers, is a featured soloist at Tap City, the New York City Tap Festival and is known as dance partner to Charles Goddertz and Harold Cromer. Michele is a faculty member of the American Tap Dance Foundation, a guest instructor at Steps on Broadway, Director of Youth Programs for NYC Tap Festival, a columnist for the International Tap Association Newsletter, director of the Metro-Gnomes Youth Tap Ensemble, Director of the Rhinebeck Dance Centre, and founder of the Roya Curie Dance Scholarship Foundation. Most recently she performed in Tap City at the Joyce Theater in NYC and was on the 2005 summer staff at Kaatsbaan International Dance Center, as an instructor and choreographer for the Extreme Ballet Pre-professional Intensive Summer Program 2005. Michele is an adjudicator and adjunct professor of dance at S.U.N.Y. New Paltz College, and a member of the National Association of Dancers and Affiliated Arts.

Tappindiana and CSA were able to fly in and pay for guest artist Michele Ribble from New York to treat our kids at no cost for an intensive seminar on 4/8 and 4/9/06.  Bo Jangles Robinson taught Gregory Hines who taught Michele Ribble who taught our kids in Grant County.  From there the tradition will be passed down from generation to generation.  This class was a FREE treat for our kids and Michele was so impressed with the talent from Jamie's Tappinidiana and our kids from CSA that she has invited them to perform on Broadway in July.