Students at Priscilla & Dana’s School of Dance in performance (Priscilla & Dana’s School of Dance)
Tap dance, a mix of West African musical traditions and British step dance, originated in this country in the 1700s — slaves created it to maintain their culture when percussion instruments were taken away from them. Tap enjoyed peak popularity in the mid-20th century in film and theater. Although its reach has since declined, it has never lost its champions. In 1989, May 25 was established as National Tap Dance Day.
Opportunities to experience tap may seem limited in the KC area, but June 2 brings a great opportunity when Priscilla & Dana’s School of Dance takes the stage at the Music Hall. The performance will feature a bevy of supremely talented and beautifully costumed tap dancers, who will shuffle, brush, stamp, stomp, flap, scuff, hop and leap to widely varied music numbers.
Priscilla & Dana’s School of Dance began in the late 1960s when Priscilla Bates Brogoto, who had been a regular on American Bandstand, danced in the movie April Love and choreographed for numerous shows, moved here and began teaching kids in her basement. That grew into her own studio. She won National Teacher of the Year in 2013, as well as the Deborah Barnes
Art for Life honor.
Pricilla’s daughter, Dana, who performed with the Golden Girls Dance Team for four years at the University of Missouri, Columbia, and was a Chiefs cheerleader and captain, joined her mother at the school. Dana has won a number of choreography awards and has served as a judge at various national competitions.
Rounding out the faculty are Christin Amedee, Gina Artese, Tia Birdsong, Alessia Braggiato, Hannah Castleman, Teri Day, Jaymes Dickinson, Emily Ellis, Samantha Green, Joni Hall, Noell Hinsley, Kristen Kemp, Yvonne Kester-Hayes, Ellie Macdonald, Crysti Miller, Maggie Mitchell, Megan O’Malley Jones, Kaitlin Rader, Danice Shaw and Chalatorn Ujamras. They guide the dancers on sprung wood floors in six large studios with exceptional sound systems in North Kansas City.
Tap may be the style it’s known for, but Priscilla & Dana’s also stresses strength in ballet and jazz, and extends the students’ interest in hip-hop, modern and lyrical dance. The school currently has 300 students, ages 3 to 18, and offers 60 classes per week, as well as summer camps. Guest artists, including Missy Moffit, master trainer, Sophia Hall from Jojo Siwa’s dance ensemble and Abby Lee Miller from Dance Moms, enrich the program. Priscilla & Dana teams compete regularly nationwide, including at Adrenaline, Showbiz, Hall of Fame, Starpower and Revolution Events. The school also hosts competitions. And it promotes students’ new choreography development.
Alumni are found in college dance teams around the country, on NFL Cheerleader rosters and seasons of “Dancing with the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance.” They’ve performed on Broadway and TV series, band road tours, cruise lines and in Las Vegas. On their resumes are performances with Debbie Allen, Miley Cyrus, Paula Abdul, Queen and Jimmy Kimmel, and productions including Jesus Christ Superstar, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Zombie Burlesque.
Locally the students have appeared at Future Stages Festival at the Kauffman Center. They’ve danced live with Derek Hough in his Dance for The Holidays Tour at the Midland, at Lonnie’s Reno Club and at various living facilities.
Through various efforts, they’ve raised $150,000 for the National Brain Tumor Society.
Priscilla & Dana’s School of Dance works to “ignite passion and foster creativity.” Tap is alive and thriving in Kansas City because of it.
For more information and tickets to the June 2 Music Hall performance, visit www.priscillaanddanas.net/recital.
