THE TAPCRACKER 2022

TAPCRACKER THE

December 10 & 11 2022

Suzanne Roberts Theatre

Directors’ Note

Welcome to our fifth annual production of THE TAPCRACKER! We are thrilled that you could join us for our very favorite holiday tradition.

The past year has seen some important milestones for The Lady Hoofers Tap Ensemble. We celebrated our 10th Anniversary with a gala in May and launched our first ever capital campaign to build our own portable dance floor. Some of you may remember that we lost power during the event— and if you’ve been with us long enough, you’ll know that the very same thing happened at our first holiday concert back in 2013!—but we powered through, premiering a new work by Lisa LaTouche and welcoming a dozen local college students who direct their own tap companies to join us onstage. We were also honored to be invited to perform this season at City Hall, the Barnes, the Kimmel, and Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts.

We’ll be back in Penn’s Landing on May 13 for the return of our annual spring concert, ON TAP, at the Independence Seaport Museum, so please save the date and join us there. We hope you have a very happy holiday.

-Kat, Katie, and Tamera

Director

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Katie Budris Managing

Tamera Dallam Associate Director

Kat Echevarría Richter Artistic Director

FIRST COMPANY

Sarah Vogan

Mary Kate Selby

Michaela Clovis

Katherine Moore

Meg Sarachan

Jenny Husta

APPRENTICES

Julianna Herrera

Tyana Henderson

Emily Bartholf Ariella Nelson

Deonna Powell

Molly Penhale

Chloe Shupe

Sarah Taylor

Mia Spallina

Sammie Smith

Tara Tucci

YOUTH ENSEMBLE

Catherine Clark

Brielle Chapman

Evie Billet

Brianna Daley

Mara Fricker

Ella Deviney

Rosie Gorn

Elizabeth Kramer

Cecelia Ioli

Aubree Hankinson

Kierstin Kramer

Paige Krissinger

Maggie Mallitz

Aria McGill

Harriet Meshkov

Julia Gregg

Isabella Schmidt

Aurora Migliore

Madeleine Meshkov

Angelina Soberal

Erin Thomas

Chessie Whalen

THE TAPCRACKER CAST

In order of appearance

THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES

Sarah Vogan

Understudy: Michaela Clovis CLARA Aria McGill

Understudy: Ella Deviney

CLARA’S MOM Mary Kate Selby

Understudy: Katie Budris

DINNER PARTY HOSTESS

Meg Sarachan

Understudy: Katherine Moore

THE FAIRY TAPMOTHER Tamera Dallam

Understudy: Jenny Husta

THE TAPCRACKER

Emily Bartholf

Understudy: Sammie Smith

THE MOUSE QUEEN

Sarah Taylor

Understudy: Mia Spallina

THE

SNOW QUEEN

Michaela Clovis

Understudy: Chloe Shupe

THE ENSEMBLE

Holiday Shoppers

Emily Bartholf, Evie Billet, Michaela Clovis, Mara Fricker, Julia Gregg, Julianna Herrera, Aurora Migliore, Ariella Nelson, Deonna Powell, Chloe Shupe, Sarah Taylor, Sarah Vogan; Understudies: Aubree Hankinson, Jenny Husta, Sammie Smith, Mia Spallina

Dinner Guests

Tamera Dallam, Tyana Henderson, Katherine Moore, Meg Sarachan, Mary Kate Selby; Understudy: Chloe Shupe

Wait Staff

Jenny Husta, Deonna Powell; Understudy: Sarah Vogan

Tower Guards

Emily Bartholf, Evie Billet, Cecelia Ioli, Molly Penhale, Sammie Smith, Mia Spallina, Erin Thomas; with Aubree Hankinson, Rosie Gorn, Aurora Migliore; Understudies: Mara Fricker, Julia Gregg, Chessie Whalen

Mice

Brielle Chapman, Catherine Clark, Brianna Daley, Ella Deviney, Elizabeth Kramer, Kierstin Kramer, Maggie Malitz, Madeleine Meshkov, Isabella Schmidt, Angelina Soberal, Sarah Taylor; with Rats Brianna Daley, Elizabeth Kramer, Kierstin Kramer, Harriet Meshkov; Understudy: Paige Krissinger

Metro Commuters

Katie Budris, Tamera Dallam, Tyana Henderson, Jenny Husta, Mary Kate Selby, Sarah Taylor; Understudies: Katherine Moore, Ariella Nelson, Chloe Shupe, Tara Tucci

Snow Fairies

Michaela Clovis, Julianna Herrera, Katherine Moore, Ariella Nelson, Molly Penhale, Deonna Powell, Chloe Shupe, Sammie Smith, Mia Spallina, Sarah Vogan; Understudies: Rosie Gorn, Meg Sarachan

Chefs

Evie Billet, Mara Fricker, Rosie Gorn, Julia Gregg, Aubree Hankinson, Paige Krissinger, Aurora Migliore, Chessie Whalen; Understudies: Cecelia Ioli, Erin Thomas

Coffee Dancers

Katie Budris, Jenny Husta, Meg Sarachan, Mary Kate Selby, Chloe Shupe; Understudies: Molly Penhale, Mia Spallina, Tara Tucci

Chocolate Dancers

Emily Bartholf, Michaela Clovis, Sarah Vogan; Understudy: Deonna Powell

Can Can Dancers

Evie Billet, Julianna Herrera, Deonna Powell, Meg Sarachan; Understudies: Molly Penhale, Mary Kate Selby

Mimes

Brianna Daley, Aubree Hankinson, Elizabeth Kramer, Kierstin Kramer, Paige Krissinger, Aria McGill, Harriet Meshkov, Madeleine Meshkov; Understudies: Ella Deviney

Tea Swing Dancers

Emily Bartholf, Michaela Clovis, Aria McGill, Molly Penhale, Sammie Smith, Mia Spallina, Sarah Taylor, Sarah Vogan; Understudies: Ella Deviney, Tyana Henderson, Mary Kate Selby

Pas De Trois

Emily Bartholf, Tamera Dallam, Sarah Taylor

Groundskeepers

Tamera Dallam, Jenny Husta, Mary Kate Selby, Chloe Shupe, with Katie Budris, Tyana Henderson, Ariella Nelson, Meg Sarachan; Understudies: Julianna Herrera, Katherine Moore, Tara Tucci

ACT ONE Paris, France

OVERTURE

Choreography: Kat Echevarría Richter; Dance Captain: Sarah Vogan; Music: Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn, performed by David Berger & The Sultans of Swing

BON APPETIT

Choreography: Katie Budris & Katherine Moore

MARCH OF THE TOWER GUARDS

Choreography: Sarah Flynn; Restaging & Dance Captain: Katie Budris

THE TAPCRACKER

Choreography: Katie Budris

SQUEAK

Choreography: Kat Echevarría Richter; Improvisation: Sarah Taylor; Dance Captain: Michaela Clovis; Music: Tchaikovsky & Ellington, performed by Harmonie Ensemble/ New York & Steven Richman

THE BATTLE

Choreography: Kat Echevarría Richter; Improvisation: Emily Bartholf, Sarah Taylor; Dance Captain: Sarah Vogan; Music: Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn, performed by David Berger & The Sultans of Swing

ON THE METRO

Choreography: Kat Echevarría Richter with Mary Kate Selby; Improvisation by the dancers; Dance Captain: Katie Budris; Music: Berlin Symphony Orchestra

WALTZ OF THE SNOWBALLS

Choreography: Meg Sarachan; Music: Dallas Brass

-15 MINUTE INTERMISSION-

Support The Lady Hoofers Tap Ensemble by visiting our Tapcracker Boutique during intermission or after the show. Apparel and tap keepsakes are available for purchase.

ACT TWO

The Palace of Versailles

SUGAR RUSH

Choreography: Kat Echevarría Richter; Dance Captain: Jenny Husta; Music: The Invincible Czars

COFFEE

Choreography: Becky Mastin; Dance Captain: Katie Budris; Music: Indigo

CHOCOLATE

Choreography: Katie Budris; Music: The People’s Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City

CAN CAN

Choreography: Kat Echevarría Richter; Dance Captain: Sarah Vogan; Music: The Narada Nutcracker

THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES

Choreography: Becky Mastin; Music: Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn, performed by David Berger & The Sultans of Swing; and Tchaikovsky performed by Pentatonix

TEA SWING

Choreography: Katie Budris; Improvisation: Emily Bartholf, Sarah Vogan; Music: Glenn Miller Orchestra

PAS DE TROIS

Improvisation by the dancers; Music: The Narada Nutcracker

EPILOGUE

The Eiffel Tower

DANCE OF THE FLOREADORES

Choreography: Becky Mastin; Dance Captain: Katie Budris; Music: Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn, performed by David Berger & The Sultans of Swing

LA FIN

Choreography: Kat Echevarría Richter; Music: Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn, performed by David Berger & The Sultans of Swing

DIRECTORS & CHOREOGRAPHERS

Kat Echevarría Richter (Co-Founder / Artistic Director / Choreographer) is a tap dancer, choreographer, educator, and dance historian. Her professional training began with the New Jersey Tap Ensemble under the direction of Deborah Mitchell and continued under Junior Laniyan of the London Tap Jam. In 2005, she received a scholarship to Oxford University, and later returned to the UK to complete her graduate work in dance anthropology. Kat cofounded The Lady Hoofers in 2011 with Too Darn Hot, an all-female, all-tap revue for the Philly Fringe Festival. Since then, her choreography has been praised by Lew Wittington of the Philadelphia Dance Journal for “tell[ing] great stories in tap and step idioms, less reliant on tricks and traditions and more on innovative tap artistry.” Kat also teaches dance history and all levels of tap technique at Stockton University, writes for Dance Magazine, and regularly presents and publishes her tap research.

Katie Budris (Managing Director / Choreographer) hails from Chicago, Illinois where she trained in multiple forms of dance and began cultivating her love for tap as a founding member of Footprints Tap Ensemble. She minored in dance at NASD accredited Hope College where she performed with InSync Dance Theatre, Michigan’s only professional tap and jazz company (now H2Dance Company). Katie’s prior tap performance credits include: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, The Nutcracker on Broadway, Walt Disney World’s 25th Anniversary Celebration, Dance Chicago, Chicago Human Rhythm Project, and Chicago Tap Theatre’s Liason. Katie joined The Lady Hoofers in 2012, and quickly advanced to Assistant Director, and now Managing Director. Her choreography “Unchain My Heart” was selected for performance at the DanceUSA Conference in 2013. In addition to directing The Lady Hoofers, Katie is a Senior Lecturer of Writing Arts and Program Coordinator for the Master of Arts in Writing at Rowan University.

Tamera Dallam (Associate Director) put on her first pair of tap shoes in 2004, and hasn’t stopped tapping since. Tamera has choreographed several winning competition dances; she also has performed as a dancer at Disney World and on Carnival Cruise Lines. Tamera spends her free time traveling up and down the east coast attending any tap festival she can find. She has taken master classes with Chloe Arnold, Jason Samuel Smith, Dianne Walker, Sarah Reich, and the Syncopated Ladies. She currently teaches multiple levels of tap at Parkside Academy of Music and Dance and works as a senior level Registered Behavior Therapist at Helping Hands Family.

Katherine Moore (Choreographer) is a percussionist with decades of tap dance and music experience. While studying Cognitive Science and Music at the University of Pennsylvania, she was the director of Soundworks Tap Factory, choreographed multiple pieces, was selected to perform with Da Boom Dance Company, learned tabla (Indian) drums, and played percussion

in the Penn Band. Later, she was a member of both Taps and Steppin’ Out at Yale University. Katherine joined The Lady Hoofers in 2015. Outside of the ensemble, Katherine has performed locally through the Philadelphia Community Tap Project and at the First Fridays jazz concert series at Arcadia University, where Katherine is a Professor of Psychology. In her spare time, she enjoys singing and dancing with her husband and three children.

Meg Sarachan (Production Associate / Choreographer) is a dancer, choreographer, and dance filmmaker who specializes in dance films and has worked with many Philadelphia-area dance groups, including The Lady Hoofers, Philadelphia Ballet, BalletX, Dancefusion, Tap Team Two, Uniting Colleges Through Tap, the Bryn Mawr College Dance Program, and Group Motion. She edited the documentary Black Ballerina (2016), which aired on PBS and explores issues of diversity in American classical dance. Meg joined the Lady Hoofers in 2012, and no one has managed to get her to leave. If you think she dances well, credit goes to Cassidy Dance Studio, Brown University’s What’s On Tap?, for which she served as co-director, and hoofer Corinne Karon. If you’re not impressed, that’s all on her. She can take it.

Sarah Flynn (Choreographer) Well-known in the tap community as the Founding Artistic Director of Footprints Tap Ensemble and an established dance educator and choreographer, Sarah served 11 years as Artistic Director of PA Academy of the Arts and Jade Dance Project, as well as founder and director of Lady Grey’s Lovelies, a vintage dance company. She has also been an instructor at Penn State University, Chicago National Association of Dance Masters, Dance Masters of Wisconsin, Dance Revolution, and many more. Performing credits include an international tour for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, The Nutcracker on Broadway, Home for the Holidays: Gregory Hines Live, Project Dance Times Square, and Tap Explosion with Savion Glover & Ted Levy. A prolific choreographer, Sarah has set over 100 works on Footprints Tap Ensemble in the years she was their Artistic Director. Her choreography has also been featured at Walt Disney World, in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and in many of the Chicagoland dance events, including Dance Chicago and Dance-4-Life. THE TAPCRACKER’s “March of the Tower Guards” premiered in The Nutcracker on Broadway as “March of the Toy Soldiers” in 1999.

Becky Mastin (Choreographer) native from State College, Pennsylvania, is a multiform dancer with training in jazz, ballet, and modern. Becky studied under Sarah Flynn at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Arts and has been performing in Philadelphia since 2011. Her performance credits include Too Darn Hot, a Philadelphia Fringe production, and Cross-Rhythms - An Evening of Tap Dance. Becky was a First Company Dancer, Rehearsal Assistant, and Choreographer for The Lady Hoofers from its founding in 2011 until 2016, and she continues to choreograph for the ensemble. In 2018, Becky founded Sole Purpose Tap Project with performer Theresa DeSimone. She is a public health professional and end of life doula.

CREDITS

Staff

Artistic Director: Kat Echevarría Richter

Managing Director: Katie Budris

Associate Director: Tamera Dallam Production Associate: Meg Sarachan

Administrative Assistant: Emily Leddy Wardrobe Manager: Mary Kate Selby

Assistant Wardrobe Manager: Deonna Powell

Board of Directors

Carol Barnes, M.S., C.A.G.S., Executive Director Adult Behavioral Health, Merakey-Philadelphia

Katie Budris, M.F.A., Managing Director, The Lady Hoofers Tap Ensemble; Senior Lecturer of Writing Arts, Rowan University Tamera Dallam, Associate Director, The Lady Hoofers Tap Ensemble; Senior Level Registered Behavior Therapist, Helping Hands Family

Barry Lurie, Ph.D., Volunteer, National Park Service Michael Montalbano, C.P.A., Senior Risk Compliance Specialist, HPP Kat Echevarría Richter, M.A., Artistic Director, The Lady Hoofers Tap Ensemble; Adjunct Professor, Stockton University Melanie Richter, M.B.A., CAP®, Sr. Director of Projects and Initiatives, The Barnes Foundation

Aliza Ross, M.Ed., Director of Member Engagement, American Occupational Therapy Association

Meg Sarachan, Production Associate, The Lady Hoofers Tap Ensemble; Post-Production Manager, FreshFly

Advisory Board

Lisa LaTouche Robyn Watson

Design for THE TAPCRACKER

Story by: Kat Echevarría Richter

Narrator: Kimberly Davidow O’Grady

Audio Recording: Sean O’Grady

Costumes, Props, & Lighting: Katie Budris & Kat Echevarría Richter

Mouse Costume Construction: Kathy & Mary Kate Selby Set Construction: Jeff McCampbell

Music Editing: Katie Budris & Meg Sarachan Stage Managers: Laura Dutton & Renee Thiringer

Photography: Ashley Smith of Wide Eyed Studios

Public Relations: Carrie Gorn of Perpetual Motions PR

Videography: Dan Cliver

THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS

SuStainerS ($2,500+ and up)

Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance

Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency

Steve Richter & Debi Echevarría

advocateS ($1,000-$2,499)

Drs. Barry & Debby Lurie Kent & Cindy Malmros Office of Arts, Culture, & Creative Economy Mary Reinhart

Anonymous Donor

SupporterS ($500-$999)

Linda & Rocco Bianchi

Chris Blowitski

Joseph Lurie & Kathy Gosliner IAT Insurance Group, Inc. Laura & Brian Penhale

partnerS ($100-$499)

Elaine Ader

Dee Beier

Beverlee & Russell Bellinghieri

Blake Bradford

Chris & Jan Budris

Katie Budris & Chris Bryan

Charities Aid Foundation

America

Rebecca Craik

Scott & Pamela Dimeler

Robert Dever

Joan Duckenfeld

Sarah Flynn

Bailey Gaffney

Susan Klein & Stuart Pittel

John Krzeminski

Michelle & Jason Lesinski

Bob & Debbie Oliveti

Deedee Mann

Kathleen McGrann

Lisa Miller & Ron Sarachan

Lily Montalbano

Occidental Fire & Casualty Co.

Mary Pachuta

Deana Powell

Kat Echevarría Richter & Mike Montalbano

Melanie & Cody Richter

Katherine Shupe Michael & Rebecca Smith

enthuSiaSt ($50-$99)

Mary Abraham

Jeffrey Barg

Britney Kennedy Bobrow

Rebecca Bohley

Carol Broadbent

Tara Chapman

Tracey Cundiff

Tamera Dallam & Bill Randolph

Marie Dodds

Caroll Drazen & Daryl Boudreaux

Alan Frankel

Carrie Gorn

Joanne Gotto

Deborah Kramer Karen Mastin

Frances McElroy Heather McEntee Debra McMullen Katherine Moore

Chandra Moss-Thorne Amy Smith Eric Thompson & Sarah Vogan

FriendS ($1-49)

Mia Buckley

Marissa Camper

Quinn Drew Janellen Farmer

Megan Flynn

Manda Frederick Caren & Stuart Hosansky

Lisa Lentini-Pombrio

Lindsey McCormick

Alicia Rosati

Georgia Salvaryn

Julia Snoke

Amy Thievon

Vanguard

in-Kind SupporterS

Adventure Aquarium

BalletX

The Barnes Foundation

Brown Sugar Sweets Co.

Jan Budris

Capezio Delaware River Waterfront Corporation Debi Echevarría Kari Hall

Lainey Lee Tellina Lee

Longwood Gardens Myriam Thiel

Philadelphia Theatre Company

Safran Turney Hospitality & We Heart Philly Traveling Tutus, Inc.

Wawa

volunteerS

Carol Barnes

Katie Blowitski

Chris Bryan

Marissa Camper Molly Layden

Olivia Lesinski

Becky Mastin

Mike Montalbano

Melanie Richter

Steve Richter & Debi Echevarría Aliza Ross

Abby Stinson Youth Ensemble families

This season is partially supported by the Philadelphia Cultural Fund and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment of the Arts, a federal agency.

In honor of our 10th Anniversary, we have launched our first capital campaign to raise $20,000 for the purchase of our own portable tap floor— because tap dance deserves to be heard! You can make a contribution to our Floor Fund, to our Scholarship Fund, or in support of our mission, by visiting our website, via Venmo @theladyhoofers, or by speaking with our box office staff in the lobby following the show.

The Lady Hoofers Tap Ensemble is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All contributions are tax-deductible.