Welcome to 2023! Classes are back in session, and we've hit the ground running with many events on deck for the semester - spring classes, program auditions, DanceTech, Frontier Fest, American College Dance Association conference (ACDA), and Sweet Charity. 

We started the year off with a big bang, welcoming renowned tap artist, Jason Samuels Smith, for a five-day residency (slightly interrupted by our snow day last week). He taught a few classes, gave an artist talk, and created a new work featuring sixteen dance and musical theatre students who are in this year's production of DanceTech. The entire dance building was buzzing last week while Jason was in town – the students and faculty all felt energized by his presence and excited by the fancy footwork in his gold patent leather tap shoes.

For those who don't know, Jason Samuels Smith is a world-renowned performer, Emmy Award-winning choreographer, multi-talented leader, and lifelong advocate for the art form of tap. He was born in New York City to a dance and musical family – JoJo Smith (of JoJo's Dance Factory, which later became Broadway Dance Center) and Sue Samuels (well-known jazz dancer/teacher and founder and artistic director of Jazz Roots Dance Company). He has worked with many different artists, including legends like Savion Glover and Gregory Hines, in a multitude of spaces from Broadway stages to Jacob's Pillow, The Apollo, Carnegie Hall, and Madison Square Garden, as well as in television, movies, and music videos. As the first official tap representative for BLOCH, Jason successfully designed, tested, and developed his own professional tap shoe. He is also working to support the elders of the tap community by sharing their stories and recording their histories, while developing philanthropic efforts to support these artists as they get older. 

As Jason began rehearsals for DanceTech, he spoke about Arthur Duncan, tap dance extraordinaire from the 1950s-60s and one of his mentors who had recently “transitioned,” as he liked to put it. As he demonstrated each step and sequence, Jason spoke about how Duncan would perform these steps and intricate rhythms. It was like a experiencing a live dance history lesson in a whole new way - kinesthetically with the body from the original source. You could tell how much admiration Jason had for Duncan throughout the conversations he had in rehearsals and classes with the students. His DanceTech work is dedicated in loving memory to Duncan. 

Jason's love and admiration for Duncan reminds me of my similar adoration toward Suzanne Aker, my first ballet teacher who founded Ballet Lubbock and the dance program and Texas Tech. Suzanne transitioned last February and was recently celebrated for her significant contributions to the arts in Lubbock. On January 25, the city honored her legacy by naming the stretch of Avenue L from Marsha Sharp to 9th Street, Suzanne Aker Avenue. Watching the reveal of the street sign brought tears of joy to my eyes. I love that she has a permanent place in the recently revitalized downtown Lubbock area near the Ballet Lubbock studios. I love that I will see that sign on my way to Buddy Holly Hall and the First Friday Art Trail. I love that others will see that sign and look up who she was and what she contributed to our community. Suzanne was a permanent fixture of the Lubbock arts community and now we have a permanent place to honor her and continue her legacy.