Just recently found out that Jason Samuels Smith received an Emmy for his choreography on the 2003 MDA telethon on September 17, 2004. There was a party held in his honor on October 24th in New York. Also, Jason celebrated a birthday on October 4th. So a double belated to you!

Just an early note to let everyone know that Savion's birthday is Friday, November 19th. Just wanted to send a birthday shout to a fellow Scorp!

I just read in the Dallas Morning News that Savion's wife, Nina, gave birth last month to a baby boy who they named Chaney! Isn't that great! I feel so out of date...I thought his girlfriend's name was Tiffany? Anyway, congratulations Savion on your new family!

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Buckets and Tap Shoes and Knock were the two shows chosen Best of Fringe from over 175 participants at the 2004 Minnesota Fringe Festival. The 7-member cast of Buckets And Tap Shoes includes Andy and Rick Ausland along with Minneapolis hoofers Ricci Milan, Nick Bowman and Kaleena Miller; also, Jeremy Mundth on bass and Dan Kusz on alto sax.

Hoofer Noah Racey has been busy. After doing Fred Astaire's bit from Swing Time on Broadway in Never Gonna Dance, he's now got the title role in Where's Charley? (running through Sept. 25 at Goodspeed in East Haddam, Conneticut) a role popularized by tap dancer Ray Bolger back in 1948. "I like the word hoofer," Racey says. "It's been kind of taken aside by this idea that there are different kinds of tap dance. To me, hoofer is a dancer. Hoofer is somebody who uses their hoofs. And that's how I like to use the word. I'm a hoofer. I tap dance, I do classical ballet, I do partnering, I do theater dance." Read the complete story here.

In honor of his upcoming 90th birthday, Fayard Nicholas of the Nicholas Brothers is the featured cover of July's Dance Teacher Magazine. Read about Fayard's teaching philosophy, what he wants to give to younger dancers, and read what his students and other dancers have to say about this legend. Great photos of this wonderful dancer!

Buckets and Tap Shoes, a show featuring world-traveling rhythm-making brothers Andy and Rick Ausland, plays August 7th-14th at the 2004 Minnesota Fringe Festival. Buckets and Tap Shoes features the Minneapolis-based dancer/musicians creating music with tap shoes, percussion on 5-gallon paint buckets, audience participation, and mouth percussion, as well as jamming with traditional musical instruments including drums, guitar, piano, keyboards and bass.