Shakespeare, Gladwell, and Hines

Working with ideas and people

The relationship between an artist, their work, and their audience has been a particular interest of mine. Many people have guided my thinking here. Henry LeTang was known for telling tap dancers that we are educators, for example. He was adamant that every time we perform, we are educating the audience about tap dancing. As I thought more about who has affected my current approach, and who I resonate with, three other creators came to mind – Shakespeare, Gladwell, and Hines. Here is how an actor and playwright, a writer of bestselling books, and an award winning tap dancer gave me the confidence to do things differently in Tap Dance Land.