Feat x Feet tap show celebrates 20 years of dancing

The Feat x Feet youth tap ensemble will celebrate its 20th anniversary during its annual summer show Friday at the O’Shaughnessy Center.

The show will feature Derick K. Grant, a professional tap dancer based in New York City, as well as 10 Whitefish youth tap ensemble alumni. Grant has made yearly trips to Whitefish for the last decade, and the group will be performing choreography taught by Grant in January.

Owner and artistic director for Feat x Feet, Ashley Smith, said she’s seen the group grow from a beginner program in its early years to a full fledged advanced dance program.

“I think the program has grown in a level of ability. It was a starter program for a long time, and now it’s very advanced,” she said.

Seeing alumni return for the show, like her first student Jenna Roe, also shows how much work has gone into keeping the program running for two decades. Roe, like Grant, is a professional tap dancer based in New York and works with Apartment 33 and the Syncopated Ladies.

Sophie Binstein, a 2017 graduate of Glacier High School and the most current alumna, will also be performing.

“It’s a huge sense of accomplishment, it’s really exciting,” Smith said. “My very first student will be coming back from New York City with her husband and her little daughter and both of them will be performing, so it’s cool to see the whole circle complete itself.”

The ensemble will be joined onstage by the workshop’s 40 attendees along with Blue Avenue, a band made of Whitefish locals Rmi Strauser (saxophone), Marty Anderson (guitar), Josh Weller (bass) and Ethan Potthoff (drums).

“I enjoy being able to bring the musicians on the stage and being able to collaborate with the dancers,” Smith said.

Tickets are $25 and available by calling 471-4400. Light appetizers and beverages will be served throughout the evening. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. with the show starting at 8 p.m. For more information, visit www.featbyfeet.com.