Tony Waag
Tony Waag (tap dancer, director, producer, choreographer, teacher, film maker & speaker)
Tony Waag founded the American Tap Dance Foundation a non-profit New York City based tap dance organization in 2001 with a mission of establishing and legitimizing Tap Dance as a vital component of American Dance through creation, presentation, education, and preservation. He also created Tap City, the annual New York City Tap Festival with premiere performances of all styles of tap by artists from around the world, as well as an extensive training program for adults, teens and children, city wide events, tap jams, student showcases, panel discussions, lectures and film screenings.
As a performer and choreographer, he has been featured in hundreds of concert, film and television productions including appearances at the legendary Apollo Theater, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the United Nations, the Atlanta Arts Festival, the Utah Arts Festival, the Colorado Dance Festival, the Lincoln Center "Out-of-Doors" Festival, the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon, PBS’s "Great Performances, a national Seagram's commercial, and in a French car commercial for Renault in Paris. International appearances include USIA tours of Turkey, Poland, Cyprus, Latvia and Estonia, and recent American ambassador tours of Armenia and Romania with his production of Tap City on Tour. He has also taught and performed in Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, Russia, Scotland, Singapore, and Spain.
Mr. Waag has received numerous grants towards the presentation and preservation of tap dance as a unique American art form. In 2002, he created the first International Tap Dance Hall of Fame honoring the contributions of legendary tap dancers by preserving their legacies for future generations to enjoy. He also created the annual Tap Preservation and Hoofer Awards, the Gregory Hines Youth Scholarship Fund, Rhythm in Motion, Tap it Out and Tap Treasures. In 2009, he created and staged the touring production of Thank You Gregory, a tribute to the Legends of Tap Dance.
In January of 2010, he opened the American Tap Dance Center in New York City where he currently directs on-going education and training programs for tappers of all ages and levels. In 2014, he received the Dance Magazine Award for his unique contributions to the dance field. Most recently Mr. Waag donated his entire archives to the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the New York Public Library at the Lincoln Center, NYC where he recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award and announced his retirement/break from ATDO.