Tap extravaganza reaches back to Lawrence Welk and aims for the future

Rachel Howard, Special to The Chronicle

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

"Bet you thought I was going to be lousy," tap legend Arthur Duncan said from the Herbst Theatre stage Saturday night, straightening his '50s-style white jacket and flashing a broad showman's grin as an audience packed with avid tappers shouted approval.

Duncan, for years a regular on the "Lawrence Welk Show," had just taken them back to the old school, belting out "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You," tip-toeing through a move he called "slipping in after 3 a.m.," hoofing the chorus to "If It Ain't Got That Swing." His nostalgic charms had all the more appeal because they capped a show that so enthusiastically celebrated tap's present.

Bay Area Rhythm Exchange showcases tap dancers
Rachel Howard

Thursday, August 14, 2008


John Kloss didn't discover a burgeoning tap scene in San Francisco when he arrived here in 2003. So he made one.

The lean, mustachioed tapper founded his own nonprofit, Stepology, and launched the Bay Area Tap Festival. Workshop attendance has tripled over the past three years. Kloss' festival-capping show, the Bay Area Rhythm Exchange, has grown so popular that it's been expanded to two nights this year.