Weaving Dance
SPECIAL EVENTS
This project is supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music, & Entertainment
Avalon Rathgeb
July 10th (7-10pm) / 11th (2-5pm)
INT/ADV
Avalon Rathgeb is a leading force in contemporary tap dance — Founder and Artistic Director of the UK’s acclaimed company OKR Dance, Founder of the London Tap Dance Festival, and creator of the new solo show UnBound, directed by Josh Hilberman and premiering in Liège, Belgium. Her bold artistic vision and commitment to elevating tap as a theatrical art-form have made her one of the most influential voices in the UK’s tap landscape today.
Avalon’s performance highlights include dancing in the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the Closing Ceremony of the 2015 European Games (Baku, Azerbaijan), and serving as a Principal Dancer for Tapestry Dance Company—North America’s only full-time salaried tap company—under the direction of Acia Gray (2017–19) where Avalon performed and toured shows including Just Tap, Of Mice and Music- A Jazz Tap Nutcracker, April Fools, Sound and Silence, Passing it Forward - The American Dream? and the re-staging of The Souls of our Feet - A Celebration of American Tap Dance.
As an international solo artist, Avalon regularly teaches and performs at major festivals such as Taptastic (Germany), Australian Tap Festival, Singapore Tap Festival, Tanzhaus (Germany), and Riff Dallas (USA). She has also choreographed and directed internationally, including the creation of K-Tap in Kuwait with LAPA LOYAC, and served as Movement Director for Plaza at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (UK). Avalon continues to collaborate closely with U.S.-based choreographer Sarah Savelli.
Website
Nico Rubio
August 7th (7-10pm) / 8th (2-5pm)
INT/ADV
Chicago native Nico Rubio is one of the leading Tap Dancers of his generation. The founder and director of SHUFFLE LiiiFE Productions and tap company 333 (Three Thirty Three), Nico has traveled the world, teaching, performing and choreographing everywhere from Europe to Asia, Central America to South America. Appearing locally on Windy City Live and halftime for the Chicago Bulls, as well as abroad, from the Stockholm Tap Festival to the San Miguel Jazz Festival. Most recently speaking and performing for TedX at The Harris Theatre.
In 2018, he received the Chicago Dancemakers Forum's Lab Artist Award. In 2019, he produced, choreographed, and even DJ’d By Way Of Taps: A J Dilla Tribute, which was performed at Columbia's Dance Center, in Long Beach California, and premiered in full at Thalia Hall in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. From 2020 to now, Rubio has produced in person and virtual events, such as Shows, Jams, Workshops, and notably his Footage Functions, that have furthered his contributions towards preserving where Tap has been, where it is now, and where it’s going. Nico’s mission is not just to expose the majesty and humanity of Tap Dancing and other art forms, but to highlight everyone’s iNFINITE iNDIVIDUAL iNCANDESCENCE (light), via SHUFFLE LiiiFE.
@nicotapz
Katherine Kramer
August 21st (7-10pm) / 22nd (2-5pm)
INT/ADV
Katherine Kramer has been a vital presence in the resurgence and evolution of classic jazz and tap dance since the 1970s. Grateful for having had the opportunity to work and study with many of the finest of tap’s masters and contemporary innovators, she has maintained a commitment to sharing this legacy. Most recently she has been interviewed by the New York Public Library for their Oral History Project, sharing her life and legacy in dance.
At the heart of Katherine’s work is a desire to bring people together, to encourage intimacy, and to promote the value of play as a tool in creating a more humane world. To this end, collaboration has been central to her creative process, and over the years she has worked with outstanding musicians including Ray Anderson, Virginia Mayhew, Kristin Korb, Michael Spiro, Jovino Santos-Neto and Kenneth Metzker; with marionette artist Pablo Cano; with choreographers including Joanne Barrett, Ara Fitzgerald, Lois Welk and Bill T. Jones. She served as movement coach and choreographer for Robert Redford in his film, “The Horse Whisperer.” Among her most important mentors are Daniel Nagrin, Richard Bull and Brenda Bufalino.