Hank Smith has a background in mime, clowning, improvisational dance, photography, video and television production. For twenty years he was a Stage Manger on Sesame Street, also functioning as Associate Director, Actor and Choreographer. As a tap dancer and educator, he has participated in the NYC Tap Extravaganza, the Tradition In Tap Experiences, NY Tap City Festival and New Jersey Tap Festival. His performance work has also been presented in and around the NYC area. Recently, he choreographed for a revival of Ed Bullins’ play, The Fabulous Miss Marie, and is retired Associate Professor Emeritus at Bloomfield College, New Jersey.

Max Pollak, a prestigious name on the international tap and world music scene, is the only non-Cuban member of Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Cuba’s famous Rumba ambassadors. Critics and peers worldwide acknowledge his superior musicianship and his highly individual style called “RumbaTap” – a pioneering blend of Afro-Cuban song and dance with American tap and body music.

Kazu Kumagai, born in Sendai City, Japan, has been tap dancing since he was 15. He has performed abroad and in NYC, where the Village Voice dubbed him the “Japanese Gregory Hines”. In 2008, he opened his first tap studio in Japan and has taught and performed throughout that country, collaborating with many artists and musicians. His passion for the art of tap dance is dedicated to his tap teachers and his hometown where his family and friends live.

Loretta Abbott, dancer, actress, singer, and choreographer, has a career spanning 50 years. An early member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, her teachers included Thelma Hill, James Truitte, Pepsi Bethel, and tap dancer, Henry La Tang. Loretta performed on Broadway in Purlie, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Raisin, Porgy and Bess, Amen Corner, the film, The Wiz and various other productions. She toured with her own solo program, “Women of Color”. She has worked with choreographers, Eleo Pomare, Louis Johnson, George Faison, Marvin Gordon, Jean Leon Destine, Donald McKayle, and Michael Peters.

Kuni Mikami, born in Tokyo, Japan, came to U.S. in 1975. In 1991, Kuni became the pianist in Lionel Hampton’s Band. He has played mainstream jazz all over the U.S. and Europe, working with artists such Illinois Jacquet, Dakota Staton, Melba Joyce and Queen Esther Marrow. He has performed at Birdland Jazz Club in NYC every Tuesday with the Duke Ellington Orchestra for the past 8 years, and tours with the Cab Calloway Orchestra. He was a house pianist for the “Buster Brown Tap Jam” at Swing 46, NYC for many years and enjoyed performing with the tap dancers.