The one thing about tap is that it gives me joy. – Ellie

My mother took me to dancing school when I was four because I was so shy I literally didn’t speak to anyone. So, initially Tap allowed me to have a voice without opening up my mouth to speak. Ever since, Tap has mirrored my development as a woman.Now at this stage of my life, I get to be the master and give it away. Not because I know everything, but because I am a passionate advocate for this amazing art form. I want to share the history of Tap – stories of women dancers and their commitment – and celebrate this unique American dance.

Ellie Sciarra conceived and co-choreographed Taps Are Talking: Women In Tap, which she has produced three times in the Denver metro area. Sciarra originally trained with Brenda Bufalino, Danny Daniels, Henry LeTang, and Paul Draper and has worked nationally and internationally as a professional tap dancer on television and stage. She has toured the United States and Europe with NYC TAPworks, performed on Dutch television, in Draper on Tap for PBS, in Stephen Sondheim’s Follies at Lincoln Center in New York, and in Brenda Bufalino’s The Buffalo Suite at The Duke Theater in New York City. Most recently she performed Duke Ellington’s Sacred Music “Praise God and Dance” with the Monarch High School Jazz Orchestra.

Sciarra is the president of Taps Are Talking, Inc., whose mission is to promote, market and produce tap dance. In addition, Sciarra continues to work around the country as a performer, guest teacher and choreographer. She currently lives in Boulder, Colorado.