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Press Releases >
The Kitchen and The Studio Museum in Harlem present Hoofers' House, May 23
The Kitchen and The Studio Museum in Harlem present Hoofers' House, May 23
The Kitchen -- May 1, 2008 -- Press Contact: Blake Zidell & Associates
tel: 718.643.9052
fax: 718.643.9502
blake@blakezidell.com
For Immediate Release
The Kitchen and The Studio Museum in Harlem present
Hoofers’ House, May 23
Hosted by Jason Samuels Smith;
Featuring DJ Reborn and video artist Rashaad Newsome
Evening is part of citywide weekend of events celebrating National Tap Dance Day
New York, NY, April 29, 2008—On Friday, May 23, The Kitchen and The Studio Museum in Harlem
present Hoofers’ House, an ongoing quarterly series in which some of the best of New York City’s rhythm tap
community come together to share and showcase their work. The evening will be hosted by performer,
choreographer and director Jason Samuels Smith and will feature DJ Reborn. Film and video artist Rashaad
Newsome will create unique visuals to accompany the performance. Tap dancers of all ages are invited to take
the floor for a jam session. Curated by Rashida Bumbray, Hoofers’ House will take place at 8:00 P.M. at The
Kitchen (512 West 19th Street). Admission is free.
Among the most unique and cutting edge tap jam sessions in the city, Hoofers’ House has been propelling a
rejuvenation of the genre for the last several years with the addition of live and electronic music and projected
visuals. This year, Rashaad Newsome has reprogrammed a Logitec duel action video game controller to
manipulate moving images live during the performance.
Past hosts and performers include Chloe Arnold, Jason Bernard, Ayodele Casel, Marshall Davis, Omar
Edwards, Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, Michaela Lerman, Tamango and Joseph Wiggan. Tap Legends
including Harold Kromer, Fayard Nicholas, Tina Pratt and Jimmy Slyde have also attended.
From the 1920’s through the 1940’s, the back room of Harlem’s Comedy Club on 131st Street, owned by
Lonnie Hicks, was the home of the legendary “Hoofer’s Club,” a site for the creation of, the listening to and
stealing of steps. Among the rhythm tap dancers given the esteemed title of “hoofer,” celebrated performers
including Legendary Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, King Raustus Brown, John Bubbles, Charles “Honi” Coles and
many more graced the floor of this intimate room. In honor of this important place in Harlem’s history, The
Studio Museum in Harlem and The Kitchen are proud to co-host a new home for hoofers.
Jason Samuels Smith (performer, choreographer, director) is a leader in the art form of Tap. He won both an
Emmy and American Choreography Award for “Outstanding Choreography” for the opening number of
the 2003 Jerry Lewis/MDA Telethon—a tribute to the late Gregory Hines. Samuels Smith recently received the
Gregory Hines Humanitarian Award. Past honors include a Certificate of Appreciation by the City of Los
Angeles for creating the First Annual Los Angeles Tap Festival in 2003; the “Ivy of Education” from Brainerd
Institute; the “President Kenny Award” from Stony Brook; an Alpert/McDowell Residency Award; and an Arts
International Grant among others. Samuels Smith recently appeared as a choreographer for Grammy Recording
Artist Mya on CBS’s Secret Talents of the Stars, and as a special guest on Fox’s hit series So You Think You
Can Dance. He also co-starred in Dean Hargrove’s Tap Heat, an award-winning short film; Outkast’s feature
film Idlewild; and Debbie Allen’s AMC television series Cool Women. Performance credits include Sammy (a
tribute to Sammy Davis jr.), a leading role of the production of Soul Possessed; the Tony Award winning
Broadway cast of Bring in Da’Noise, Bring in Da’Funk; and starring in the critically acclaimed production
of Imagine Tap! Mr. Samuels Smith continues to tour the U.S. and beyond with India Jazz Suites, a dynamic
collaboration with Kathak Master Pandit Chitresh Das, his own tap company A.C.G.I (Anybody Can Get It),
JaJa Productions Band featuring jazz-influenced hip hop music, and Charlie’s Angels: A Tribute to Charlie
Parker, featuring some of the best women performers today.
DJ Reborn spins a mix of soul, hip-hop, reggae, house, afro-beat, nu-jazz, rock and more. A Chicago native,
she now resides in New York and spins at clubs, parties, museums including The Studio Museum in Harlem and
the Bronx Museum and live performances with The Roots, Common, Talib Kweli, India Arie, John Legend,
Alice Smith and Goapele. Reborn is also a mentor/workshop facilitator for N.Y.C. teens. She has crafted a new
workshop specifically for teen girls, which explores djing, creative writing and women’s images in music and
media culture. Since 2002, DJ Reborn has been the musical director and a live on stage DJ with Will Power on
the off Broadway Hip Hop theatre hit show Flow. She partnered with Will Power again in 2007 as the musical
director and sound designer for his original children’s theatre production Little Honey Bo. Reborn was the 2004-
2005 international tour DJ with Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam and she has made four appearances on BET’s
Rap City. She has been featured in Trace, NRG, URB, Scratch, DJ Times and recently appeared on the cover of
The Village Voice.
Born in New Orleans, LA, Rashaad Newsome received a B.A. in Art History at Tulane University before
studying Film at Film Video Arts in New York. He has been the recipient of several awards and grants
including the 2008 Location 1 International Residency Program, New York, NY; the 2007 BCAT/Rotunda
Gallery Joint Multimedia Residency, New York, NY; the 2006 Franklin Furnace grant for Performance Art,
New York, NY; the 2005/2006 l’Entreprise Culturelle Artist in Residence, Paris, France and the 2005
Harvestworks Artist in Residence, Harvestworks, New York, NY. Newsome has also exhibited and performed
nationally and internationally at such renewed institutions and galleries as K.U.E.L., Berlin, Germany; Glassbox
Gallery, Paris, France; Rush Arts Gallery, New York, NY; Veletrzni Palace, Prague, Czech Republic; Ingalls &
Associates Gallery, Miami, FL; Fondation Cartier, Paris, France as well as The Contemporary Arts Center, New
Orleans, LA.
The Studio Museum in Harlem is the nexus for black artists locally, nationally and internationally, and for
work that has been inspired by black culture. It is a site for the dynamic exchange of ideas about art and society.
Located on 125th Street, between Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd. and Lenox Avenue in the Harlem
neighborhood of New York City, New York, The Studio Museum in Harlem was founded in 1968 as the first
museum in the U.S. devoted to the art of African-Americans. The museum specializes in 19th and 20th century
African-American art; 20th century Caribbean and African art; and traditional African art and artifacts. It has a
collection of over 1,600 works including pieces by Romare Bearden, Robert Colescott, Jacob Lawrence,
Norman Lewis, Chris Ofili, Betye Saar, Lorna Simpson, Kara Walker and Hale Woodruff. The museum also
maintains an extensive archive of the work of James VanDerZee, photographer of the Harlem community from
1906 to 1983.
Funding Credits
This program is made possible with generous support from Altria Group, Inc., The Harkness Foundation for
Dance, The Jerome Robbins Foundation, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, and with public funds from the New
York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.
ABOUT THE KITCHEN
The Kitchen is one of New York City’s oldest nonprofit performance and exhibition spaces, showing
experimental work by innovative artists, both emerging and established. Programs range from dance, music, and
theatrical performances to video and media arts exhibitions to literary events, film screenings, and artists’ talks.
Since its inception in 1971, The Kitchen has been a powerful force in shaping the cultural landscape of this
country and has helped launch the careers of many artists who have gone on to worldwide prominence.
Box Office Information:
212.255.5793 ext. 11
Tue-Sat, 2-6pm
The Kitchen
512 West 19th Street
New York, NY 10011
www.thekitchen.org
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