Derick K. Grant (born May 19, 1973) is an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

tap dancer Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its ow ...

and

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

. He came to prominence in 1996, as an original company member and Dance Captain in the

George C. Wolfe George Costello Wolfe (born September 23, 1954) is an American playwright and director. His accolades include two Tony Awards for directing the play '' Angels in America: Millennium Approaches'' and the musical '' Bring in 'da Noise/Bring in 'd ...

-produced musical ''

Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk ''Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk'' is a musical that debuted Off-Broadway at the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater in 1995 and moved to Broadway in 1996. The show was conceived and directed by George C. Wolfe, and featured music ...

'' at both

The Joseph Papp Public Theater The Public Theater is an arts organization in New York City. Founded by Joseph Papp, The Public Theater was originally the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954; its mission was to support emerging playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: A ...

New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions are ...

and on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

. Derick recreated

Savion Glover Savion Glover (born November 19, 1973) is an American tap dancer, actor and choreographer. Early life The youngest of three sons, Glover was born to a white father, who left the family before he was born, and a black mother. Glover's great-grand ...

's choreography and starred in the role of 'da beat for the first National Tour. He works all around the world for different tap shows and events such as "Tap To You". In 2009, he appeared on the sixth season of the hit show

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

where he

choreographed Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer creates choreographies thr ...

a tap routine performed by the three tap dancers in that season’s Top 20: Peter Sabasino, Bianca Revels, and Phillip Attmore. He lives in New York City with his son, daughter and wife.

Training

Born in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Grant began his training at the age of two at The Roxbury Center for the Performing Arts, and by the time he was eight years old, he has learned the "hoofin" style of tap from the master tap dancer

Dianne Walker Dianne Walker (born March 8, 1951), also known as Lady Di, is an American tap dancer. Her thirty-year career spans Broadway, television, film, and international dance concerts. Walker is the artistic director of TapDancin, Inc. in Boston, Massa ...

. Derick furthered his training in Los Angeles at Universal Dance Design Studio under the tutelage of

Paul Kennedy Paul Michael Kennedy (born 17 June 1945) is a British historian specialising in the history of international relations, economic power and grand strategy. He is on the editorial board of numerous scholarly journals and writes for ''The New Y ...

. Derick spent three years with the

Jazz Tap Ensemble Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African Americans, African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, s ...

touring the world.

Awards and career highlights

He is the recipient of the

Princess Grace Award The Princess Grace Foundation – USA is a charity organization named after Princess Grace of Monaco, which supports emerging performers in theater, dance, and film in the form of awards, grants, scholarships, and fellowships. The Foundation hol ...

for Upcoming Young Artists as well as The Helen Hayes Award (Washington D.C.) for Outstanding featured Actor for his role in 'Bring in ’Da Noise, Bring in ’Da Funk'. Derick was featured at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts African Odyssey program, part of the Expresiones Latinas Festival. He collaborated on a piece that incorporated tap and capoeira with renowned Brazilian artist Nego Gato, which opened the festivities for singer Daniella Mercury. He also choreographed and performed in a piece on the history of tap that launched the

Black History Month Black History Month is an annually observed commemorative month originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It began as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the Af ...

2001 celebration at

Aaron Davis Hall Aaron Davis Hall is a performing arts center in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. It opened in 1979 and is located on the campus of the City College of New York, between West 133rd and 135th Streets on Convent Avenue, one block east of Amsterdam ...

. Recent compositions were featured in The Queens Symphony Opera’s

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

Concert in Ann Arbor's Arts Festival. Most recently Derick's own creation A Night Out: Tap! toured the country for three months. Of his latest choreography and performance with Jazz Tap Ensemble at the Joyce Theater in NYC ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said "Mr. Grant let gusts of rhythm propel him with remarkable velocity!" Derick's current project as of this writing is a musical revue entitled Imagine Tap!.

External links

*
Brooklyn Rail Derick Grant with L.J. Sunshine
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Derick K. American choreographers American tap dancers 1973 births Living people Princess Grace Awards winners