Join us as we celebrate our 25th Anniversary at the Joyce Theater, 175 8th Avenue

The American Tap Dance Foundation started out as the American Tap Dance Orchestra. It was originally founded and created in 1986 by dancer/choreographer Brenda Bufalino. With the help of Tony Waag, and the late Charles "Honi" Coles, the ATDO created an original approach to tap dance with a concert orchestra of taps. Committed to celebrating one of America's few indigenous art forms, the ATDO created new concepts in contemporary tap employing a wide spectrum of musical tones and rhythms in the manner of a conventional orchestra.  As with instrumental soloists in a big band, individual dancers contribute their own virtuosity to the choreography, so that the whole becomes the sum of each dancer's unique style. The choreography for the ATDO, though encompassing tap’s tradition, expands the ideas of routines and flash, five-minute entertainments into whole evenings of work. Conceptually developed themes were woven into fugues and counter-rhythms with atmospheres and poetic qualities that offered a complete art experience. 

Source: https://www.atdf.org/