West Bloomfield Native Taps Her Way to Motor City Festival

Shelby Kaufman started tap dancing at age five and, by her senior year at West Bloomfield High, taught 12 classes. 

Now living and working in New York, Kaufman returns to the Detroit area August 15-17 to participate in the Motor City Tap Festival, on the campus of Wayne State University in Detroit. The event includes tap classes, a panel discussion with industry tap experts, a tap jam, and a showcase with the Masters of Tap faculty.

Kaufman said she will teach three classes, including a "mash-up class, showing how you can successfully merge other styles of dance and tap." She'll also give a solo performance during the Masters of Tap concert at Orchestra Hall and work with a group she founded, the Great Lakes Youth Dance Ensemble (GLYDE). 

Her career began 23 years ago at Annette & Company School of Dance in Farmington Hills, where her mom had taken classes just for fun. Kaufman studied tap there for 13 years.

"I kind of started young, and I was really good at it," she said. "I'm very mathematical in how I think about rhythm and counting." Tap, she said, combines her love of dance and music. "It's something to listen to and something to watch." 

As she got more involved in the tap community in New York, she met veteran tap dancer Harold "Stumpy" Cromer, who became a mentor and closer friend. During their first encounter, he told her that her last name, Kaufman, means "salesman" in Germa. That was appropriate, he told her, because she could really sell the art of tap dance. 

Sadly, Cromer passed away in June, a loss that Kaufman still feels deeply. She is working on a musical about his life. 

"He always preached how everyone needs to dance and sing and act at the same time," she said. 

Kaufman also believes in being a multi-faceted professional. She does all styles of dance and makes a living primarily through teaching and running a dance company in New York called Mazel Toes, as well as being a choreographer.

"You do your best to try to excel at all three (performing, teaching and choreography)," she said. "If I didn't excel in all three it would be harder to make it in this business." 

Clarkston native Denise Caston, who spent years working as a Radio City Rockette in New York, came up with the idea for the Motor CityTap Fest as she traveled the country.

“My goal is to teach tap and educate people about the history of the dance," she said. 

Scholarships are available for aspiring dancers, teachers, working professionals, and all-around tap enthusiasts who want to attend, but can't afford the registration fee. Learn more at motorcitytapfest.com.