Vancouver Tap Dance Society

08/06/2026

So much talent in this room! We're so excited for this weekend!
2 incredible shows!

Encore: https://www.showpass.com/encore-2026/
All Together Now: https://www.showpass.com/all-together-now-2026/

08/06/2026

07/29/2026

Tap Jam at The Irish Heather Shebeen!

Come be part of the music! Join the cast members of Encore and All Together Now for a live music tap jam. Real musicians. Real rhythm. Real fun.

When: August 7th, 8pm�Where: The Irish Heather Shebeen�Cost: $10 at the door

All ages welcome. Bring your tap shoes. Great food and drink on hand.
No pressure, no pretense. Just show up, jam, and see where the music takes you!

07/14/2026

The Society’s Elite Youth Performance Ensemble. TapCo carries repertoire ranging from classic to contemporary pieces, and tours British Columbia schools with a mesmerizing show about tap dance.

Featuring dancers who have fallen in love with tap dancing and are committed to developing their practice in technique and performance. TapCo presents performances and outreach classes to hundreds of enthusiastic young people every year at schools, festivals, and community organization events. The company commissions international artists on an annual basis and presents a repertoire of both traditional and cutting-edge choreography.

About the scholarship program:

TapCo runs stronger when the room is full of dancers who are all-in and we believe that costs should never be a barrier. The TapCo Scholarship Program in an effort to remove the cost barrier for a small number of committed dancers each session, split across two streams: one for dancers already in the program, one for dancers on the verge of joining.

Two Streams

Returning Dancer Scholarship
For dancers currently enrolled in TapCo who are continuing into the next session. Rewards commitment already shown in the room.

New Dancer Incentive Scholarship
For dancers who are not yet enrolled but have already signalled real intent to join. Not people we’re trying to convince; people who were already coming.

Eligibility �
Planning to join or continue with TapCo regardless of the scholarship outcome. This is required in both streams. This is a good-faith requirement, not a technicality: the scholarship rewards dancers who were already coming, it doesn’t manufacture interest that wasn’t there. �
Returning Dancer Stream
- Currently enrolled in TapCo (or any other elite program at VanTap). �
- Registered or in the process of registering to return for the next session.

New Dancer Incentive Stream �
- Not yet enrolled in TapCo, and �
- Has already shown clear intent to join, evidenced by either: an active TapCo registration sitting in their account cart, or an expressed interest in person or in writing to VanTap staff.

Application link in bio.
Or copy here ⬇️:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1C0nNMAlFKz0FGH6n1edDj7Q3vf1Y5GUx?usp=sharing

07/10/2026

"All Together Now" 2026
August 9th @ 7pm

This incredible night of tap dance is split between the world premiere of an original new work by Max Pollak — performed by local and international guest dancers — and contributions from extraordinary performers and groups in Vancouver's dance community.

Max Pollak: Max is a human instrument — one of the few living masters of tap and human rhythm expression. This new work, created exclusively for this show, is an epic collaboration between Max and a cast of local and international guest dancers, bringing his signature fusion of tap, body percussion, and Afro-Cuban rhythm to the Vancouver stage for the first time. Expect rhythm as language — voices, bodies, and feet woven into a single instrument, telling a story only Max could tell.

And beyond that debut, this is a true community show — a night where Vancouver's dance community takes the stage together, side by side with a legend, celebrating the art form that connects them all.

Tickets Here:
https://www.showpass.com/all-together-now-2026/

The Cast:
Camila Aldet
Riley Skworoda
Matisse Qu***ia
Bryn Kinders
Natasha Dawson
Isabelle Kwan
Paige Tirs

The Max Tap Experience Ensemble:
Isabel Mark
Mikaela Mark
Alexandra Ribeiro
Anton Kiriazis
Phoebe Norcott

07/08/2026

All Together Now with Max Pollak! Tickets are now available
👇👇👇⬇️⬇️⬇️👇👇👇👇👇⚡️⚡️⚡️💜💙🩵💚💛🧡❤️🩷
https://www.showpass.com/all-together-now-2026/

07/08/2026

ENCORE 2026: A Tap Karaoke Concert

Six of the best tap dancers on the planet. One impossible question. Zero idea what happens next.

Max Pollak, Joel Hanna, Jessie Sawyers, Riley Skworoda, Bryn Kinders and Matisse Qu***ia come together for this very special presentation that shares performances by and conversations with some of the most extraordinary dancers in the world who, at different places in their lives and careers, are asked the hilariously weird question that everyone dreams of answering: "What song was your anthem?"

We all know that feeling when we hear a song and it takes us back to the days when we dreamt of the big stages in far off countries, and conquering them all. But for them as dancers, the answers are very different and fantastically surprising.

Then we get back to the game that makes everyone lose their minds "Tap Dance Karaoke!". But this year, the game is different; bigger and better, but the rules are the same. We don't know who's calling the tunes, and we don't know what the tunes are.

This isn't choreography. This is six virtuoso dancers and dear friends improvising in real time, sharing stories you won't hear anywhere else, and proving that tap is the loudest language they know.

Backed live by The Dean Thiessen Trio. Hosted by Joel Hanna. One night only.

This show doesn't repeat. Get your tickets before they're gone.

Tix here:
https://www.showpass.com/encore-2026/

The Players:

Max Pollak - Creator of RumbaTap. He fused Afro-Cuban rhythm with American rhythm tap, and the world took notice. Bessie Award nominee, U.S. Postal Service stamp honoree, the only non-Cuban member of Los Muñequitos de Matanzas.

Joel Hanna - Most artists stay in their lane. Joel built a new road. Through Riverdance, Broadway, Lincoln Center, and (literally) everywhere else, and now VanTap.

Jessie Sawyers - Seattle tap dancer turned global connector. She built a career on bridging idea and action — she once traveled five months with nothing but a tap board strapped to her back, teaching strangers to dance in eleven countries. Five original shows, and a company built to unlock people. Turns out rhythm needs no translation.

Riley Skworoda - Edmonton-born, Vancouver-made. Her global heart chased her passion for tap across Greece, Spain, and Chicago, and now leads VanTap's Competitive Choreography Program.

Bryn Kinders - Dancing since age two, tap won, by choice. Mentored by New York legends Barbara Duffy and Heather Cornell, she now spends her days making sure the next generation falls just as hard.

Matisse Qu***ia - Tap dancer, emcee, entertainer. As VanTap's TapCo Director, he brings the same energy whether he's on his feet or on the mic and makes sure the room is having as much fun as he is.

The Band:

The Dean Thiessen Trio -
Led by pianist and composer Dean Thiessen, whose training runs from Red Deer College to Berklee to Capilano University. A fixture of Vancouver's jazz and improvised music scene, he brings that same easy swing to every stage he plays — from theatre and dance productions to international tours across the US, UK, and India.

August 8th @ 8pm
Orpheum Annex
Encore 2026 - Tickets available here!
👇👇👇⬇️⬇️⬇️👇👇👇🫶🫶🫶
https://www.showpass.com/encore-2026/

03/31/2026

✨ An Extraordinary Artist is Coming to Vancouver.

This summer, we are honoured to welcome Max Pollak — master percussionist, tap innovator, and one of the most extraordinary artist-musicians of his generation — to create and perform a brand new work as part of the VITDF Summer Series.

Max Pollak is not simply a dancer. He is an instrument. Every cell of his body in service of rhythm, sound, and story. To witness him perform is to understand what rhythm, at its most elevated, truly is.

This summer, that artistry comes to Vancouver — and it begins here, with us, with something entirely new.
An original creation. Built in our city. Performed on our stage.

We will soon be sharing an audition announcement for those who wish to be considered as part of this creation process — an invitation to work alongside a living legend, and to be woven into something that has never existed before.

Stay close. This is rare.

VITDF Summer Series | Summer 2026