Founded in Pinellas County in 2015 by dancer, choreographer, and instrumentalist Kayla Cowart, known professionally as “The Tap Girl of Florida,” the Florida Tap Dance Project and Tap Dance Ambassadors of Florida are focused on bringing awareness to Florida’s unique and thriving tap dance commerce.
“It is my vision to brand the St. Petersburg-Clearwater area as the ‘Capital of Florida’s Tap Dance Industry’ and also to showcase other Florida tap dance hotspots including Orlando,” said Cowart, the Project’s Creative Director and the Ambassador of Florida’s Rhythm.
Over the past five years Florida Tap Dance Project, based in Clearwater, Florida’s historic Capitol Theatre, has been promoting tap dance as an integral part of Florida’s tourism, music, and entertainment industry. The pulsating movement has earned statewide accolades from tap artists, performing arts organizations, community partners, business establishments, and dance aficionados.
“Orlando is fast becoming a tap hub that comprises one-third of Florida’s rhythm and creative energy so it gives me great pleasure to include Orlando’s Marshall Ellis and Marshall Ellis Dance School among our growing list of supporters,” announced Florida native and Clearwater resident Kayla Cowart who, in 2018, also founded the Annual Dunedin Tap Dance Festival.
Marshall Ellis Dance School, located at 1300 La Quinta Drive, hosts the Annual Orlando Tap Festival held every June and Cowart’s Visit Florida Tourism Campaign is promoting it. Featuring a professional ballet company, a youth ballet ensemble, and a musical theater company; Marshall Ellis offers classes in ballet, pointe, and hip-hop. Jazz and tap classes are taught onsite by Daniel Hunalp, Director of OTown Taps, which operates under the umbrella of the Marshall Ellis Dance School.
“Daniel has taught tap, jazz, and musical theater in New York and Florida,” said Cowart. “He has performed at Orlando’s Walt Disney World in front of Cinderella’s Castle, on ABC beside pop stars such as Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, Hillary Duff, and Debbie Ryan, with Australia’s Tap Dogs, and in regional theater roles throughout the United States. He is a consummate performer and we are excited to welcome Daniel Hunalp as a new member of Tap Dance Ambassadors of Florida.”
The Tap Dance Ambassadors of Florida is part of the Florida Tap Dance Project; a network of tap dance champions who represent some of the most accomplished tap dance talent throughout the State of Florida. These professionals are comprised of: Kayla Cowart, Florida Tap Dance Project (Clearwater); Morgan Angillilis-Storrison, Tapped In, Inc. (Dunedin); Jenne Vermes, Noise Complaint and Rhythm Theory (Jacksonville); Judi Nelson Baruck, ReCreation Tappers of Southwest Florida (Naples); Ruth Ann Martin, Truth Tap Company (Saint Petersburg); Ashlyn Bolton, Rhythm and Sole Tap Ensemble (Tampa); and Cathy Scavelli, Tap Sensation (Trinity). This group of tap dance professionals and new Tap Dance Ambassador, Daniel Hunalp, of OTown Taps (Orlando) are all committed to tap dance as an art form. They share the belief that a strong foundation of tap dance instruction and performance opportunities will better help dance students transition into becoming professional dancers.
Since 2016, Kayla Cowart’s own vibe and rhythm has resonated on the Off-Broadway theater stage as part of the cast of STOMP, the long-running musical dance production wowing audiences at New York’s Orpheum Theater since 1994. Recently, this multi-faceted entertainer also created a new collection of tap dance music entitled “Generation Tap” that musically blends the rhythm of tap with elements of trap, trip-hop, electronic dance music (EDM), and house music to produce a unique compilation of sound.
Embracing every available opportunity to promote Florida’s Tap Dance Industry Kayla Cowart, “The Tap Girl of Florida,” follows the path of her passion to wherever it may lead her – and this time it led her to Orlando, Florida.
For more information about Kayla Cowart visit Florida Tap Dance Project (https://www.floridatap.com) or Dunedin Tap Dance Festival (https://www.dunedintapfest.com). For details on the Florida Tap Dance Project’s Tourism Campaign go to Visit Florida (https://www.visitflorida.com/en-us/listing.a0t1W00000VcQXYQA3.html).
Check out the Marshall Ellis Dance School website to learn more about its tap dance program, classes and theater programs (https://www.marshallellisdanceschool.com/)