urban tap squad company bios

click here to see pictures of the UTS Company members

JENNIFER BISHOP - Artistic Director
As a choreographer Jennifer’s credits include: commercials for Ocean Spray & Chevron, musicals "Little Shop Of Horrors", "You’ll Get Used To It" & "Oklahoma", TV Series "Mysterious Ways", "These Arms Of Mine" and the feature film "Better Than Chocolate". Jennifer has toured Taiwan with show band CULTURE SHOCK and North America with RHYTHMATIX (a percussion & dance ensemble). She has performed in the Vancouver Playhouse Productions of "GUYS AND DOLLS" and "MUSIC MAN" as well as THE ARTS CLUB's production of "WEST SIDE STORY". Jennifer has studied with a long list of tap masters including: Brenda Bufalino, Barbara Duffy, Heather Cornell, Roxanne Butterfly, Germaine Salzberg, Miller and Ben, William Orlowski, Paul Draper, Savion Glover, Lane Alexander, Dianne Walker and Phil Black. She is Artistic Director of HIT THAT WOOD Tap Intensives and sings with hit lounge act The Smartinis. As an instructor she has worked with students of all ages and levels in disciplines of jazz, tap, musical theatre and hip hop throughout North America. She has been a resident instructor at Harbour Dance Centre in Vancouver for over 10 years. T.A.P. - Teach All People.

AMY BURNS
Amy has trained and performed in all disciplines of dance from a very young age and has a long list of accomplishments and award winning performances. Her passion for tap has led her train extensively at festivals throughout the U.S. over the past 12 years with a long list of tap masters including: Brenda Bufalino, Dianne Walker, Van Porter, Sam Weber, Cholly Atkins, Skip Cunningham, Bruce Stegman, Barbara Duffy, Chester Whitmore, Heather Cornell, Jeni Legon, Leelah Petronio, Lane Alexander, Johnson & Peters and Mark Mendonca. In August 2001 she performed in The Vancouver Tap Festival concert "It’s About Time, It’s About Tap" at The Vancouver Playhouse. In December of this year she will be travelling to Tokyo where she plans to take tap classes. It is Amy’s desire to share her love of tap dance with students of all ages. She encourages them to feel the joy of this amazing instrument and the music within them. Tap - a joyful noise!

MIYUKI ISHIZAKI
Miyuki has performed with Mariko Fujii Tap and studied with Mari Art Dance in Tokyo, Japan. She studied in New York intensively at Broadway Dance Centre, Steps and with Henry LeTang. While living in Victoria she taught adult tap and danced with The Broad Street Dance Company. Miyuki is one of the original members of the urban tap squad. She juggles her time between dancing and running her own company, Pan Pacific Personnel. (we like to call her Super Miyuki!)

SHELLEY STEWART HUNT
A native of Vancouver, Shelley has been singing, dancing and acting in a wide range of stage, film & TV productions since childhood. Most recently, she was in the Arts Club Stanley Theatre’s production of My Fair Lady which ran for two months in 2001 and was brought back by popular demand in the summer of 2002. She played "Rumpleteazer" in the national touring company of CATS and performed at United Nations Multinational Force Bases in Germany and the Middle East for the overseas tour Heartbeat Canada. She had a featured role in the ABC-TV movie musical Bye Bye Birdie and performed on the accompanying soundtrack. Shelley has sung with The Vancouver Opera chorus, The Variety Club Telethon’s Goldheart Singers, and on the dinner cruise The Pride of Vancouver. Currently Shelley performs with the urban tap squad, The Classic Carollers and lounge act The Smartinis. Shelley works as a choreographer for theatre, film and TV, conventions, cabaret acts, fashion shows and is a busy guest teacher. She has been to Mexico three times to teach courses in various programs with instructors from around the world. Shelley teaches tap and musical theatre for several Lower Mainland dance programs.

KERI MINTY
Keri is an avid performer having appeared in numerous shows as a singer, dancer and actor. Recent credits include Maisie in The Boyfriend, Babe in Pajama Game (she was nominated the CTC best actress in a musical) and Rosalia in West Side Story (awarded most outstanding female performer). She has also been a featured performer in productions for Canada’s Pacific National Exhibition, and with musical theatre quartet The Group On Stage. Minty is also a dance instructor/choreographer and is a History/Education major at Simon Fraser University.

KERRY LACKNER
Kerry has been tapping since age six, and has performed with various groups throughout Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia. She has performed in the opening number for the "Masters of Tap" show in Vancouver for the past two years, and is now very excited to be a part of the Urban Tap Squad. Kerry is currently working on her Bachelor's degree in Animation at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design.

LAURA BISHOP
Laura is the company's out-of-town member and also acts as Artistic Consultant for the urban tap squad. Laura has been tapping since the age of five and is currently teaching Tap, Jazz & Musical Theatre to students at The Dance Gallery in Kamloops, BC. She is an accomplished choreographer, having produced numerous award-winning pieces and travels to adjudicate competitions throughout Western Canada. Laura's favorite tap classes have been with Dianne Walker, Brenda Bufalino and Heather Cornell, but her biggest inspiration continues to be her sister, Jennifer.