About me...
Tap Dancer, Choreographer, Actor, Singer
Biography
DANTE LARA has been tap dancing his entire life, and has an everlasting passion for the arts. About to graduate from Chapman University with a BA in Theatre, he has already received his SAG card at age seven, having done dozens of commercials (Lexus, GameBoy, Ford, and more) and guest starring roles on TV, including the WB’s The Nikki Show and CBS’s Dance Revolution.
He also appeared in several professional stage productions, including The Music Man (starring TV’s David Ruprecht), and Gypsy, (with Broadway star Richard Rogers), to name a few. During the summer of 2005, Dante attended and performed at the Tap Kids intensive in New York, where he was chosen by Ayodele Casel to dance in her piece. In 2006, Dante joined professional tap company LA Ironworks, alongside Sarah Reich, and other up-and-coming professionals, under the direction of Steve Zee. He and fellow LA/NY tap dancer Christopher Broughton were back-up dancers for Charon Aldredge and her Tap Star show at many venues, including the Los Angeles Pan African Film Festival. Most recently, Dante has performed and showcased some of his newest choreography at the 2013 Phoenix area National Tap Dance Day Celebration; at the 2013 LA Tap Fest, and most recently at Launch three point oh, a Benefit for Catalyst Spark a Chain Reaction non-profit organization.
He can also be found street-side on a tap board, at Huntington Beach and Santa Monica, from time to time.
Dante considers Chloe Arnold (LA/DC Tap Festivals co-founder) his mentor, having been trained by her and Jason Samuels Smith since 2003 at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy. Dante started dancing at age four, doing all the recitals and winning dozens of competitions. His love for serious tap dance began to take center stage, and he began his rhythm studies with the great Alfred Desio, and later with the one and only Arlene Kennedy. He also studied with Charon Aldredge, Josette Wiggan, and Chantel Heath, among others, and has had the privilege of dancing onstage with Gregory Hines, and Savion Glover.
Some of Dante’s favorite festival teachers have been Jason Janas, Jumaane Taylor, Arthur Duncan, Dianne Walker, Ted Levy, Kaz Kumagai, Chance Taylor and Harold Cromer...and the list goes on.
He considers his tap teaching style everything from sweat-breaking advanced rhythmic choreography, to teaching adults who have never picked up tap shoes. Dante has taught a variety of student levels at Huntington Academy of Dance, Mission Viejo Dance and Performing Arts, South Coast Dance Center, Focus Dance Center and Jimmy DeFore's.
His goal as a teacher is to spread the love and joy of this musical dance art form to everyone, and to give students technique and tap vocabulary they can take and share in their own improvisations and choreography.
Dante is available for master classes, weekly advanced or intermediate classes, subbing, choreography clean-up, and of course, choreography for concert or competition.
https://www.facebook.com/DanteLaraEntertainer?ref=hl
http://dantelara.net
Biography
DANTE LARA has been tap dancing his entire life, and has an everlasting passion for the arts. About to graduate from Chapman University with a BA in Theatre, he has already received his SAG card at age seven, having done dozens of commercials (Lexus, GameBoy, Ford, and more) and guest starring roles on TV, including the WB’s The Nikki Show and CBS’s Dance Revolution.
He also appeared in several professional stage productions, including The Music Man (starring TV’s David Ruprecht), and Gypsy, (with Broadway star Richard Rogers), to name a few. During the summer of 2005, Dante attended and performed at the Tap Kids intensive in New York, where he was chosen by Ayodele Casel to dance in her piece. In 2006, Dante joined professional tap company LA Ironworks, alongside Sarah Reich, and other up-and-coming professionals, under the direction of Steve Zee. He and fellow LA/NY tap dancer Christopher Broughton were back-up dancers for Charon Aldredge and her Tap Star show at many venues, including the Los Angeles Pan African Film Festival. Most recently, Dante has performed and showcased some of his newest choreography at the 2013 Phoenix area National Tap Dance Day Celebration; at the 2013 LA Tap Fest, and most recently at Launch three point oh, a Benefit for Catalyst Spark a Chain Reaction non-profit organization.
He can also be found street-side on a tap board, at Huntington Beach and Santa Monica, from time to time.
Dante considers Chloe Arnold (LA/DC Tap Festivals co-founder) his mentor, having been trained by her and Jason Samuels Smith since 2003 at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy. Dante started dancing at age four, doing all the recitals and winning dozens of competitions. His love for serious tap dance began to take center stage, and he began his rhythm studies with the great Alfred Desio, and later with the one and only Arlene Kennedy. He also studied with Charon Aldredge, Josette Wiggan, and Chantel Heath, among others, and has had the privilege of dancing onstage with Gregory Hines, and Savion Glover.
Some of Dante’s favorite festival teachers have been Jason Janas, Jumaane Taylor, Arthur Duncan, Dianne Walker, Ted Levy, Kaz Kumagai, Chance Taylor and Harold Cromer...and the list goes on.
He considers his tap teaching style everything from sweat-breaking advanced rhythmic choreography, to teaching adults who have never picked up tap shoes. Dante has taught a variety of student levels at Huntington Academy of Dance, Mission Viejo Dance and Performing Arts, South Coast Dance Center, Focus Dance Center and Jimmy DeFore's.
His goal as a teacher is to spread the love and joy of this musical dance art form to everyone, and to give students technique and tap vocabulary they can take and share in their own improvisations and choreography.
Dante is available for master classes, weekly advanced or intermediate classes, subbing, choreography clean-up, and of course, choreography for concert or competition.
https://www.facebook.com/DanteLaraEntertainer?ref=hl
http://dantelara.net