Our Mission

Fueling the passion for tap dance. Our festival is a vibrant celebration of education, history, and individuality. We inspire dancers to explore their unique rhythms, honoring the rich legacy of this art form while fostering personal growth and creative expression.

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Registration is open! Please Click Here to Register!

Central Florida Tap Fest II

​November 8th - 10th 2024

The Central Florida Tap Fest is not associated or affiliated with any one studio or group. Gregory Hines said it best, "If you have a pair of shoes, you're in!" All students and Tap Dancers, from children to adults, and  no matter where you are from are welcome! Our purpose is to spread the joy/knowledge of Tap Dancing as an art form!

​A note from our Director:

We are so excited to have you join us for the Central Florida Tap Fest!

I wanted to create this to provide some of the same opportunities I had growing up. Being around so many wonderfully talented dance artists really helped me shape my life and my career today. Whether you want to pursue tap dance (or any form of dance) as a career or not, I have grown up seeing first hand how the arts save lives, and wanted to create as many opportunities as possible for people to experience that for themselves.

I've wanted to create something for a while that really pushes the appreciation of tap dancing not only on the wood, but also historically & musically. There is so much more to tap dance than most know, and through this, we plan on hosting a few intensives/workshops throughout the year to encourage the growth of appreciation. Our inaugural event will be the 1st annual Central Florida Tap Festival! We are putting together a weekend of classes from modern day leaders in the tap dance community in the hopes of bringing a part of the community to Central Florida! In addition to the classes we will be having history/footage talks, a panel discussion for you to ask any and all questions you would like of the faculty, and a showcase performance of all the faculty! The weekend will culminate with a scholarship giveaway from the faculty to a few standout students!

I'm so honored to be able to bring you the amazing faculty for this year's Fest (Which will be announced soon!) I have the pleasure to call every one of them a friend, as well as inspirations who have taught me so much in so many different ways. Please take advantage of this time you have with them! Tap festivals/Intensives like this don't happen all that often! 

Again, thank you for coming to check this out and please feel free to explore the website a bit! We will be posting the faculty information very soon, and registration will be up and running shortly as well! We can't wait to share the wood with you!

CFTF Director Josh Nixon

About Josh: 

Josh Nixon began dancing at the age of 3. As a well-rounded student of dance, Josh trained in ballet, lyrical, and jazz, but his favorite by far was tap. Encouraged by his trainers Pam McCormick and Heidi Stafford, Josh joined MYTE (Metropolitan Youth Tap Ensemble), a semi-professional company, based in Virginia under the direction of Katie Padgett and Jason Holley, where he was exposed to performing opportunities throughout Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC. 
 
Mr. Nixon has become a well-respected Tap Dance Instructor, with the privilege of participating in residencies, workshops, festivals and performances in over 30 states in the U.S. and 20 other countries. His professional career has evolved to also afford him the opportunity to serve as the Assistant Artistic Director to Broadway Veteran Joseph Webb’s youth company, House of Tap. His continually evolving career has brought him to be seen in Dance Teacher and Dance Magazine features, and production/performance opportunities alongside his mentors Chloe and Maud Arnold, Derick Grant, and Ted Louis Levy. Josh has performed with Chloe Arnold's Apartment 33, Ryan Johnson's SOLE Defined, Brazil's Tap: New Generation and Heidi Stafford's Sundays on Tap. Most recently, he has performed at the Root 100 Awards, Lincoln Center, The Smithsonian Institution, on the MS Europa 2 cruise ship, and has done choreography for the national Miss America Pageant.
 
When not traveling, Josh passes on his love, respect and knowledge for tap dance as a guest instructor at a handful of Universities and studios throughout the DC/Metro Area, as well as working to create new original works to be presented soon!