Guest Artist Residency
with Jessie Sawyers

November 5-12, 2017

     Jessie is a performer, educator, leader, and force of positivity who has traveled across 6 continents to over 10 countries. She has been teaching tap dance for 15 years and working professionally for 18, beginning her studies under the training of Ginger Roberts who then connected her with Cheryl Johnson and Anthony Peters in Seattle. Jessie has had the honor of studying with late tap greats Cholly Atkins, Ernest Brown, Harold Cromer, Fayard Nicholas, LaVaughn Robinson, Prince Spencer, and as a young dancer, was privileged to be invited to share the stage with Savion Glover and Gregory Hines.
     She has been on faculty at numerous international tap dance festivals including Australia, Brazil, Calgary, and Vancouver; has been commissioned as both a director and choreographer for the Vancouver International Tap Dance Festival; frequently assists Dianne Walker in passing on the Leon Collins body of work; and was a principal dancer with Tapestry Dance Company in Austin, TX, in 2014 for their 25th Anniversary Season.
     Jessie’s artistic expression is melodic, powerfully rhythmic, graceful, and exudes a deep love for improvised music collaboration. In addition to tap dance, you may catch Jessie singing, playing the ukulele, illustrating and writing. In 2016 she released a global music video through her project Music of Humankind, which involved a solo trip around the world collaborating with over 100 dancers and musicians she met along the way. She is currently writing original music with GRAMMY-nominated pianist and composer Josh Rawlings under the band name ViMM, and has recently launched an eCommerce business in the realm of collective self-expansion called Getting Unlocked.

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Residency Teaching Schedule

M O N D A Y November 6th
​7:30-8:30pm - Adv Beg Tap, Ages 15+

T U E S D A Y November 7th
5:30-7:00pm - Int Tap B & C

W E D N E S D A Y November 8th
7:30-8:30pm - Adv Beg Tap, Ages 10-14

T H U R S D A Y November 9th
5:45-6:45pm - Beg Int Tap, Ages 8-12
6:45-8:15pm - Int Adult Tap [FULL]

S A T U R D A Y November 11th
10:00-11:15am - Int Tap A
11:20am-12:50pm - Int Tap B & C [FULL]

S U N D A Y November 12th
1:00-2:30pm - Open Workshop (Adv Beg/Int)​

Cost

$23 to take a 60-minute class
$27 to take a 75-minute class
$30 to take a 90-minute class

Reserve Your Spot!

Very limited space available. Contact Valerie Thurston by e-mail (vthurston@thetapstudioak.com) or call/text (907-342-2051). Cash or check payment is required to hold your spot. If you prefer to pay online, a $1 per-class processing fee will be added. Participants will be required to complete a registration/waiver form and to comply with The Tap Studio conduct guidelines.

Conduct Guidelines

Student Conduct
The Tap Studio students are positive, hard-working and kind. Students are expected to treat the owner, instructors, fellow dancers within the studio, dancers within the dance community, The Tap Studio facility and Turnagain Arts Building facility with respect at all times.
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Parent Conduct
The Tap Studio parents are expected to set an example to the Tap Studio students, and must abide by the student conduct guidelines. Please refrain from gossip and complaints with other parents while waiting in the hallway. Address all concerns directly to Valerie Thurston.

Location

Turnagain Arts Building
4105 Turnagain Blvd East, Suite 5
Anchorage, Alaska 99517

Choreography Residency

A cast of 11 dancers have agreed to participate in the Choreography Residency in which Jessie will teach a 2-3 minute performance piece! This includes two 1.5-hour workshops and 8 hours of rehearsals with Jessie. Invitations were previously sent to students on the basis of class level. If you didn't get an invitation this time around, don't worry! You're still awesome. With our small studio, there was just limited space. Hopefully we can invite you the next time we have a guest artist visit us!