30 years of IDO World Tap dance Championships
Message of Mrs. Nancy Chippendale Chairperson of the IDO Tap dance Committee
I am honoured to write a message for Michael Wendt’s book on the history of the IDO Tap Championships. Participating in the championships has changed the lives of so many people over the years and I am beyond grateful to be a part of the IDO family. It all started when my mother signed me up for tap lessons when I was just a little girl. Neither one of us would have dreamed of where tap dance would take me over the years. After growing up in Ohio, I moved to Boston, Massachusetts when I was 18 years old and opened a dance studio. Although I only had ten students that first year, each year the business grew and since 1979 thousands of dancers have tapped their way through my studio.
In 2004, my colleague and dear friend, Bill Fowler, recruited me to bring my tap dancers to Riesa, Germany to compete at the IDO WORLD TAP CHAMPIONSHIPS for what I thought would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Little did I know at that time that I would be traveling to Germany every year with a team of dancers ready to compete proudly wearing their red, white and blue. Winning gold medals is a thrill of a lifetime for the dancers, family members and choreographers. When Team USA sings th e National Anthem as our Nation’s flag is raised to the rafters, the hours of rehearsals and sacrifice makes this moment worth every bit of hard work. But winning at this IDO event is not the only reward. After meeting such wonderful people in Riesa, my husband Bob and our three daughters Karen, Kelli and Krissy and I started an exchange program with Kerstin Albrecht from Germany. We invited her dancers to travel to Boston, Massachusetts to attend our festival, Tap United. The dancers stayed with host families from my studio who welcomed them into their homes, exchanged information about our cultures and enjoyed exploring the Boston area. We culminated the week with a Tap United show where USA and German dancers shared their talents on stage. Next came t he Britts led by Jo Scanlan who brought members of her company’s TAP ATTACK to Boston. We have also hosted the Swiss Team led by Daniel Borak and the Polish Team led by Sylwana Patlaszynska. Over the 15 years of our festival, we have hosted dancers from all over the USA, Germany, England, Canada, Mexico, Scotland, Switzerland, Italy, Czech Republic, South Africa, Spain, Ukraine and Australia who all train and perform together in a show. We have also been honored to have Michael Wendt, the IDO Honorary Lifetime President, join us and perform the Master of Ceremony duties several times. The lives of our dance families have been enriched and changed forever due to the hard work of the IDO Tap Championship organizer, Michael Wendt. We are all so very grateful to have had the opportunity to travel to Germany, compete on the world stage and meet lifelong friends. I can’t wait to walk into the Sachsen Arena next year and see all of the tap community come together again.
Big applause to Michael Wendt for producing this book so that we can reminisce about how the IDO Tap Championships began and look forward to making new memories with old and new friends.
Who would have thought that tap dancing would be the medium for bringing people together from all over the world, helping us learn and understand each other’s cultures and making friendships to last a lifetime?
Happy Tapping Always! Nancy Chippendale
USA Choreographer, USDSCF, Vice President, IDO Tap Committee Chairwoman and IDO Judge
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