“Finally, a talented adult rhythm tap company doing serious work. A wonderful alternative in our dance community.”

- Gene Medler
Director, North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble

About Footnotes

Footnotes Tap Ensemble (FTE), a non-profit professional tap company, was founded by Robin Vail and Mimi Benjamin in 2002. The Ensemble’s mission is to promote, educate and perform this truly unique American dance art through annual Ensemble Concerts, Community Concerts and Tap Workshops. FTE continues to gain recognition through out the Triangle and the tap community for its varied and highly acclaimed repertoire and affordable workshops teaching “classic tap.” Footnotes has commissioned works from Michelle Dorrance, Josh Hilberman, Robert Perera, Dorothy Wasserman, Lane Alexander and Gene Medler; Director of the highly acclaimed North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble (NCYTE).

Robin Vail, Co-Artistic Director, received her training in jazz, tap and ballet in San Francisco & Los Angeles. She holds an undergraduate degree in Theatre Arts from UCLA and a minor in Music. In Los Angeles, Robin studied with Jim Taylor and Jamie Pisano. She has studied with Gene Medler since 1995. Robin teaches tap at the Ballet School of Chapel Hill, where she is also an administrator, Barriskill Dance Theatre School in Durham and Dance Attitude in Raleigh. She is the North Carolina Representative for the International Tap Association and is on the board for the North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble.

Mimi Benjamin, Co-Artistic Director, graduated from Brandeis University in 1982 with a degree in Theater Arts. She began a career in Musical Theater in NYC with credits including Up In Central Park (Off-Broadway) and the National tour of Fiddler on the Roof. In 1987 she returned to school and received a MD degree in 1991. She currently teaches tap at Ninth St. Dance in Durham. Mimi is on the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Dance Alliance, North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble and has also been instrumental in the formation of the Triangle Dance Alliance.

Erin O’Reilly began her dance training in Canton, OH and has a minor in Dance from SUNY Fredonia where she studied tap, jazz, ballet and modern dance. She continued her ballet and jazz training at Indiana University where she received a minor in ballet along with her Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics. After moving to Durham, NC in 1998 she studied with Gene Medler and has been a member/ choreographer with Footnotes since 2002. She is a member of the North Carolina Dance Alliance and received a Duncan Noble Summer Study Scholarship from NCDA in 2007. Erin has studied tap with Michelle Dorrance, Josh Hilberman, Diane Walker, Dorothy Wasserman and Billy Siegenfeld among others.

Mary Fletcher Peña has danced since childhood, focusing in recent years on dance forms that put special emphasis on the feet - flamenco, Irish step dancing, and her favorite, rhythm tap. After studying under Gene Medler as a member of the North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble, Mary was afforded the opportunity to study European dance forms while working in the international arena.

Meg Scull started tapping at age 7 in her hometown of Dover, New Hampshire. She received a BS in Biology from Duke University in 2001 where she was a member of Duke's rhythm tap group, "On Tap." She then moved to California where she danced at the San Francisco Tap Dance Center with Rosie Radiator and the RadTap Team before returning to Durham in 2004.

Alexis Dunkle is from the San Francisco Bay Area where she graduated from UC Berkeley and enjoyed studying a variety of forms of dance since a young age. Having devoted herself to forms of dance rooted in jazz tradition, she has traveled the country and abroad as a part of the swing dance and lindy hop community since 1997. She began to focus on tap dance in 2004, studying with Mimi Benjamin and Gene Medler and joined Footnotes in April 2006.

Shannon Glutting is a native of Canton, Michigan where she danced tap, jazz and ballet for 10 years with the Dancin' Feet Company. She graduated from the University of Michigan School of Art & Design in spring 2003 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Graphic Design, a professional skill she has donated to Footnotes by designing their printed literature and new website. A resident of the Triangle since June 2005, Shannon has studied with Mimi Benjamin and Gene Medler and has been a member of Footnotes since April 2006.

Whitney Goodman is a native of Chapel Hill, NC and recently returned to attend the UNC School of Medicine. Whitney has performed nationally and abroad with Gene Medler and the North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble and joined Footnotes in 2006.

Zans McLachlan began tap dancing with Gene Medler at age eight. He became a founding member of NCYTE (nee The Children's Tap Company) at ten, continuing with the company through high school. Since majoring in Dance and Biology at Swarthmore College, he has taught, choreographed, and performed in North Carolina, Chicago, and Russia. Zans has wide influences, including Honi Coles, Thelonious Monk, Michelle Dorrance, George Clinton, Sam Weber, Duke Ellington, and Gene Medler.

Jenny Parker has been tap dancing for 15 years. Jenny graduated from Purdue University with a major in Public Relations and French. Prior to moving to Durham, she was a staff instructor for Universal Cheerleaders Association for nine years and served as the Indiana Territory Manager for three years. She joined Footnotes in October 2006.

JoAnna Langston was born and raised in Massachusetts where she began tapping at the age of five. After shifting focus to gymnastics and cheerleading, she returned to tap after graduating from Elon University in Burlington, NC and joined Footnotes in October 2006.

Tina Allen is originally from Alexandria, VA, and has been studying tap and ballet since age five. She received a BS in Computer Science as well as minors in dance and math from Duke University in 2002. While at Duke, she was one of the founding members of the rhythm tap group, "On Tap" and a member of the ballet repertory ensemble. She is currently working as a software engineer, and discovered Footnotes after taking classes from Gene Medler. She joined Footnotes Tap Ensemble in January 2008.

Heather Justus grew up in Chapel Hill, NC, studying tap since age 7 with Gene Medler. She continued her dance training as a member of the North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble and Studio A Dancers throughout middle and high school. Heather graduated from Appalachian State University where she received a BS in Communications with a concentration in Public Relations and joined Footnotes in January 2008.

Carla Barcelos studied tap in her home country of Brazil from her youth through college with Susan Baskerville and also assisted in teaching tap. In 2006, Carla moved to the United States and danced with Caitlin Spencer, Director of the Rhythm Room in Greensboro, NC and guest artist with Footnotes. She joined the Ensemble in January 2008.