FACULTY

denise caston-clark

Denise Caston-Clark, Owner and Director of Tap Dance Detroit + Performing Arts Center, was a Radio City Rockette for 10 years and toured nationally with the Tony Award winning musical, Crazy For You. Denise has also had the honor of performing the choreography of Savion Glover at a showcase in New York City. She performed on tour in Australia, dancing all over the continent in Elvis to the Max. Her choreography has been seen in many productions in which she performed, including shows at Caesars Windsor in Ontario, Canada. Credits also include film, television, commercials, and industrials.

She was on the faculty at Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway in NYC, and is thrilled to be launching Tap Dance Detroit. Other teaching credits include Debbie Allen Dance Academy Summer Intensive, Gregg Russell’s Tap Into the Network, Big Apple Tap Festival, and The Rockette Experience© at Radio City Music Hall.

In 2011, Denise was invited to speak at the TEDx Detroit Conference about her contributions to the cultural landscape in Detroit, including founding and producing Motor City Tap Fest and founding the Detroit Tap Repertory.

In 2014, she was awarded a prestigious MaTilDa Award from her alma mater, Oakland University, for Alumni Achievement in Dance.

Certified by the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum

heidi schultz

“At age 35 my mother started tap dancing and suggested I try too; I’ve been tapping ever since.” Heidi has been teaching tap for more than 30 years and hopes to follow in her mother’s footsteps and tap for decades to come.

Heidi started her tap journey in the 1980s at Annette & Co. School of Dance in Michigan and eventually ended up teaching and performing in Washington, D.C. for over 20 years. Before moving back to Detroit in 2016, Heidi taught tappers of all levels—from absolute beginners to professionals—at the Joy of Motion Dance Center in Washington, D.C.. Heidi is the founder, director, and choreographer of the rhythm tap company Tappening that has, since 2000, created pieces to a wide range of music such as R&B, electronica, reggae, hip hop, bluegrass, classical, jazz, and rock and performed at several D.C. venues including the Kennedy Center. In 2010, she started another rhythm tap company, Tappenstance, for adult tappers. In 2008, she made her Broadway debut at Lincoln Center as part of a tap chorus with the New York Philharmonic. Heidi was also an adjunct dance professor at American University for several years.

Heidi has studied, performed, and jammed with finest tap dancers across the U.S. Her tap family includes such greats as Chloe Arnold, Maud Arnold, Michelle Dorrance, Jason Holley, Jason Janas, Quynn Johnson, Toni Lombre, Joseph Webb, and Baakari Wilder.

Megan Drabant

Megan Drabant (Detroit, MI), graduated with an MFA Dance Science from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, England, with her thesis research focusing on the effects of fatigue on tap dancers. Previously, Megan received a BFA in Dance from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. She performed professionally with the Michigan Dance Project, directed by Kathy King; Detroit Tap Repertory, directed by Denise Caston-Clark; M.A.D.D. Rhythms, directed by Bril Barrett; Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s BAM!, directed by Lane Alexander; and CoCoDaCo Mezzo Company, directed by Ronn Stewart. She has choreographed for the feature film Needlestick, written and directed by Detroit-based film writer Steven Karageanes, and has written articles for the hyperlocal dance portal site, Dance Panorama. In September 2012, Megan was featured in Dance Magazine for initiating a tap course at Wayne State University. Megan is a certified STOTT Pilates instructor, PTA Global Personal trainer, AFAA Group Fitness instructor, and a Gray Institute 3DMAPS and CAFS certified coach. She is a regional judge for Triple S Dance Competition, and is on faculty with Dancewerks Regional and National Werkshops- leading sessions in Pilates, contemporary, tap, and dance science.

Erica Egrin

Erica started dancing at the age of 4 and has been teaching dance for over 16 years. She studied dance under various instructors and world renowned choreographers. In addition to teaching classes at local studios in the Metro Detroit area, she was the competitive tap coach at an award winning dance studio in Lansing, Michigan. Erica has won multiple high overall awards for her choreography. In June 2019, she became a certified WERQ Dance Fitness Instructor.

Brandon Walker

An enthusiastic ballet connoisseur, Brandon trained in classical ballet and musical theater in New York City. He trained vigorously at Steps on Broadway, and Broadway Dance Center. Favorite teachers and mentors are Dorit Koppel, Sue Samuels, and Michelle Moreno.

Brandon’s class will enable dancers to refine basic ballet technique, taught at a slower pace to focus on using the right muscle groups and proper alignment of the body. Over time, students will notice increased flexibility and improved posture. This level is perfect for students who are new to ballet, or have had some formal training and just want to jump back in.

Brandon teaches a structured class while cultivating a safe space to learn and grow. Come to class expecting to laugh or at least smile. Ballet can have a reputation for being very serious, which it is, but there is no reason we can’t have fun while we learn a new skill.