Fred Strickler has danced and choreographed since 1961 for film, television, musical theatre and especially for the concert stage. He has presented his work in 17 countries.
He is a virtuoso tap dance artist acclaimed by audiences and critics alike for his originality and musicality. Fred is equally at home in jazz, classical and modern styles. In his tap dances, he revels in the complex interactions of rhythm, sound and movement, creating works that expand the possibilities of this uniquely American art form.
Mr. Strickler conceived and produced Masters of American Tap Dance, a series of ten-minute master lessons with 37 of America’s best tap artists/teachers. The series was launched May 25, 2010 on YouTube, in celebration of National Tap Dance Day.
Recently, he has also begun his own series of 20 instructional videos, “Tap Teasers”, for YouTube, to be completed in August, 2010.
Fred is the subject of a set of oral history/video interviews conducted by dance historian, Lisbeth Langston, focusing on his life in dance. These interviews are now in the archives of the Special Collections Library at the University of California, Riverside.
He directs his own group, Fred Strickler & Friends — New Ideas on Tap, which has included concerts with guest artists Sam Weber and Peggy Spina. In particular, he has created many pieces with his long-time collaborator, percussionist-composer Ray McNamara. In 2008-09, tap artist Denise Donovan joined Ray and Fred to present “Where I Live”, a series of intimate performances at his home studio in Riverside, CA.
Fred was a co-founder of the seminal Jazz Tap Ensemble with tap dancers Lynn Dally and Camden Richman, touring throughout the USA and in Europe. The JTE also toured in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and The Philippines, serving as cultural ambassadors under the sponsorship of the US Information Agency.
For twelve years he was a dancer/choreographer with Rhapsody in Taps, directed by Linda Sohl Ellison, including performances with tap legends Eddie Brown, Sandman Sims, Charles ‘Honi’ Coles, Steve Condos, Bunny Briggs, Arthur Duncan, Leonard Reed and Frances Nealy.
He has also appeared as a guest artist with Manhattan Tap and the Peggy Spina Tap Co. in New York and with Lane Alexander’s company, am/FM Dance Company in Chicago. He was also a featured artist in "Jazz on Tap: American Legends" in Los Angeles, sharing the concert with Dianne Walker, the Nicholas Brothers, and others.
He was a co-founder of the modern dance group, Eyes Wide Open Dance Theatre and was a dancer-choreographer with the Bella Lewitzky Dance Company.
Since 1983, Fred has performed his choreographic version of the “Tap Dance Concerto” with more than 40 orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Houston Symphony and the Arizona Symphony. One of the highlights of his career was a concert in 2001 with the National Symphony in front of the U.S. Capitol for an audience of 70,000. Another very special event was dancing this piece with Sam Weber and Lane Alexander with the Long Beach Symphony. In that concert all three artists performed their own choreographic versions simultaneously, a historic first.
For New York's Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center, Strickler and dance writer/historian Sally Sommer co-produced "Tap Blast!," a special event featuring Heather Cornell’s Manhattan Tap , Anita Feldman, Fred Strickler & Friends, and tap master Charles "Cookie" Cook.
On television and in film, his work has been featured in the PBS special, "Gregory Hines' Tap Dance in America ," England 's "Jazz Tap Ensemble: USA ," KQED San Francisco's "Honi Coles & the Jazz Tap Ensemble," the award-winning documentary "Tapdancin," and in the award-winning film by Bridget Murnane, "Four Dancers."
An active choreographer, Strickler has created dances for tap, modern and ballet companies. His work has been presented at Lincoln Center, Dance Theatre Workshop, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, the Kennedy Center, the Colorado Dance Festival, and in a special series of concerts with Charles "Honi" Coles for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.
He has created nearly 200 dance works, including commissions in tap for soloist Heather Cornell and her company, Manhattan Tap , New York 's Peggy Spina Dance Co. , Lane Alexander’s am/FM Dance Co., Linda Sohl Ellison's Rhapsody in Taps , Christy Hernandez’s Sound Effects , The Northwest Tap Consort, and the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival .
He has also created a ballet work for the Los Angeles Chamber Ballet, and modern dance pieces for the Bella Lewitzky Dance Company.
Fred is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at U.C. Riverside, where he taught from 1967-2007. In partnership with the distinguished dance scholar Christena L. Schlundt, he was a founder of the Department of Dance. He has taught courses at UCLA, California Institute of the Arts, and California State University, Long Beach. He has also taught at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival , the Colorado Tap Festival , the Tappin' With The Masters Festival in Portland, the Southern California Tap Festival, and the Chicago Human Rhythm Project Summer Tap Festival.
www.fredstrickler.com
www.mastersofamericantapdance.com
email: fred@fredstrickler.com
email: fred.strickler@ucr.edu
Facebook: Fred Strickler
YouTube channel: rhythmdancer85
YouTube channel: mastersofamericantap
with Ray McNamara, percussionist
