“Transitions” begins an exciting series of summer performances this month!

Please consider making a donation to the online fundraising campaign to help defray production costs for these shows:

* June 1: We will be at The Dance Hall in Kittery, Maine, at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are available online (at a discount!) and at the door. We were featured in the Boston Globe for this performance!

* June 8: We will present excerpts from the show at the 5th annual Dance for World Community Festival in Harvard Square (Cambridge, MA), alongside many other talented professional and pre-professional Boston dance groups. Our performance will be at 3:00 p.m. on Stage 3. The following day, June 9, I will be teaching an open, community tap class aimed at beginner students as part of the festival, at 3:40 p.m. in Studio 1.
* June 14: We’re performing at The Regent Theatre in Arlington, MA, at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are available online or at the door, with a discount for groups of 10 or more.

* June 23: We’ll be broadcasting LIVE from The Regent Theatre for The Steve Katsos Show Fourth Annual Spectacular! Watch us in person — or on TV! — as we perform a rousing acapella routine from the show.

I’m excited to join David Parker and The Bang Group, along with other Boston-based dance artists, at the Boston Center for the Arts for their monthly Movement at the Mills series. I’ll be performing a solo piece in this gallery setting, where audience members can wander through the museum and watch the dancers in action. Best of all – it’s FREE! Join us on Friday, May 10th at 8:00 p.m. for what is sure to be an great show.

Speaking of great shows… I’ll be appearing with the Jump Rhythm Jazz Project in their first Boston area performance later this month! The full-bodied rhythm-making of this award-winning, Chicago-based tap & jazz dance company arrives at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington, MA, at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, May 17th. Purchase your tickets now!

And — it’s just ONE MONTH until my original show, “Transitions,” returns to the stage! But before it does, I need some help raising money to cover productions costs. Please consider contributing to my ** online fundraising campaign ** so we can literally get this show on the road. And buy a ticket to one of the performances, while you’re at it! Get all the details by clicking the “Transitions” tab at the top of the page.

I am excited to be a guest performer, along with my dance partner, Kelly Kaleta, at Dance Northeast!, a weekend celebration of dance in Rochester, New Hampshire. We’ll be presenting a new piece alongside a few old favorites in a professional showcase this Saturday, April 6th at 7:00 p.m. at the Rochester Opera House. We hope to see some familiar faces in the audience!

Later this month, I’ll be returning to The Yard on Martha’s Vineyard for a week as part of their “Artists-in-the-Schools” program, presenting lecture demonstrations in elementary and middle school classes to promote TapTheYard 2: A Vineyard Festival of Rhythm & Beats, which will happen this summer. I’m excited to be a part of this community immersion project and partake in a deviation from my normal gigs!

This month, the long-delayed but thankfully rescheduled “Against the Odds” dance festival finally comes to Springstep in Medford, MA. Subtitled “Imperfect(ive) Experiments,” this festival is a celebration of work inspired by unique or imperfect body types. A work in progress, “The Tall & Short of It,” from my full-length show will be presented on Thursday, March 21 at 8:00 p.m. General admission tickets are $20. I hope you can attend that night — and other nights — of this terrific program!

You can get a sneak preview by reading this great interview with me about the festival!

I’m also happy to have an article in the March/April issue of Dance Studio Life!
This piece profiles my friend Jimmy Locust, an incredible teacher I’ve worked with who keeps one foot in Hollywood and another at his own studio in Connecticut. This issue is available on newsstands (and in dance studios!) now, and my piece will be available to read online next month.

It’s been a while since I’ve hosted a tap jam, so I’m thrilled that I have the opportunity to do so this month in NYC at the historic Swing 46 jazz club!

I’ll be carrying on the tradition of the great Buster Brown as master of ceremonies on Sunday, February 17th from 6-8 p.m. Bring your tap shoes and join in, or just come to watch the magic of live jazz music and tap improvisation, featuring some great youth tap companies from around the country, their teachers, and some special guests. Reserve a seat now (212-262-9554)! There is a $5 cover and $15 minimum purchase for food and drinks.

If you don’t think you’re quite ready to join a jam session, maybe you can brush up on your technique with me for the remaining half of my Intermediate Adult Tap series at Boston Percussive Dance on Saturday mornings, 9:30-11 a.m., in Cambridge, MA. I’m teaching February 16, 23 and March 2 for just $20/class. We’ve had a great turnout and a lot of fun so far!

Please also check out my latest article for CNN — my first sole byline! — about a young California woman in need of four organ transplants. What do you know about the organ donation and transplant process in the U.S.? Maybe someone you know can save a life.

Performing at a tap jam with Kelly Kaleta

Greetings from Miami, where I’m spending another glorious week with the YoungArts program! I’m giving opening remarks for this year’s Dance & Cinematic Arts Showcase this Wednesday, January 9th, at 8 pm. Not in the Sunshine State? No worries — you can watch the show online as it broadcasts live from the New World Center.

Next week, I’ll be back in NYC to perform in a new show, SOUNDspace, with Dorrance Dance/New York. This is our second performance at Danspace, following our sold-out 2011 shows, and it’s very cool! Get your tickets now to see some of Manhattan’s top tap and multiform dancers create a unique rhythmic soundtrack in St. Mark’s Church. Performances are Thurs/Fri/Sat, January 17/18/19 at 8:00 p.m. Seating is limited!

If I don’t see you in the audience, maybe I’ll see you in the classroom: beginning Saturday, January 26th, I’m teaching a six-week intermediate adult tap workshop at Green Street Studios in Cambridge, MA! We’ll be working on tap technique and original repertory from 9:30-11 a.m. each week until March 2nd. You can register in advance for $110 or drop in when you can for $20/class.

Happy New Year!

I’m happy to make my inaugural appearance in Dance Teacher magazine with a news item of mine appearing in the December 2012 issue, which is hot off the presses!
The piece highlights my friend and mentor, Aaron Tolson, and how he has been preparing Miss New Hampshire, my friend Megan Lyman, for her performance in the Miss America pageant next month.

You can also read the full story and learn about how the two tappers met and how they have helped each other by checking out my latest blog post.

Happy Holidays!

With the holidays fast approaching, I’m ready to dance to my favorite songs of the season!

On December 1^st, I’ll be spending the day at The Regent Theatre in Arlington, MA. At 10:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., The Dance Inn’s Annual Holiday Dance Spectacular will feature some of my original choreography for the Legacy Dance Company, and I’ll be making a guest appearance with other alumnae!

At 7:30 p.m., I’ll be back to kick off a FREE variety show, “There’s No Place Like Arlington’s Show Place,” celebrating town spirit! Join me and other local talent for a fun night of movement, music, magic and movies.

Later this month, I’ll be at The Dance Hall in Kittery, ME, to “Ring in the Rhythm” on December 15^th (7:30 p.m.) & 16^th (2:00 p.m.) with live music and tap greats Drika Overton, Brenda Bufalino, Josh Hilberman, Gay Nardone, and my duet partner, Kelly Kaleta.

That’s it for 2012! We’ll see what next year has in store….

In rhythm,
Ryan

Photo: Diana Marcus

I’m thrilled that previews for “Transitions” have appeared in The Boston Phoenix and the Salem News! Read about my tap dance journey, my inspirations for the show and my dance philosophy. [And check out this awesome illustration of me!]

“If you don’t want to put on some tap shoes after a tap show,” [Casey] warns, “I’ve done something wrong.”

Tickets are still available for the 7 pm performance this Sunday!

Due to popular demand, “Transitions” will have an additional performance this Sunday, November 4th at 7:00 pm, also at Marblehead Little Theatre in Marblehead, MA.

Get your tickets now!