Jason Samuels Smith facts for kids
Jason Samuels Smith is an amazing American tap dancer, choreographer, and director. He was born on October 4, 1980. He is known for his incredible rhythm and energy on stage.
Early Life and Dance Journey
Jason Samuels Smith grew up in New York City. Both of his parents were professional performers. He started dancing professionally when he was very young. He learned a lot at the Broadway Dance Center in New York City. As a child, he even appeared on the TV show Sesame Street. When he was 15, he was an understudy for the main role in the famous Broadway show Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk. Being an understudy means he learned the part and was ready to perform if the main actor couldn't.
Awards and Special Honors
Jason Samuels Smith has won some big awards for his talent. He won an Emmy Award and an American Choreography Award. These were for his amazing dance moves in a tribute to the late Gregory Hines in 2003. The City of Los Angeles also thanked him for starting the first Los Angeles Tap Festival in 2003. The City of Shreveport, Louisiana even declared April 23 as "Jason Samuels Day" to honor him!
Cool Performances and Projects
Jason Samuels Smith has been part of many exciting projects. In 2004, he was in a short film called Tap Heat. He also danced in the movie Idlewild by Outkast. Famous choreographer Debbie Allen has featured his dancing in several shows. These include the TV series Cool Women and a tribute to Sammy Davis Jr. called Sammy. In 1999, he had a main role in Soul Possessed with stars like Patti LaBelle.
He also started the tap dance program at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy. This is where the yearly Los Angeles Tap Festival takes place. In 2016, he narrated a documentary about tap dancing called Lost in the Shuffle.
Here are some other places Jason Samuels Smith has performed:
- He was a special guest dancer on the TV show So You Think You Can Dance.
- He performed at the New York City Center Fall For Dance Festival.
- He danced at Sadler's Wells Sampled in London.
- He was part of Savion Glover's group called NYOTs (Not Your Ordinary Tappers).
- He performed in Cross Currents: Turned on Tap in London.
- He was in TAAP: The Art and Appreciation of Percussion at the Harlem Jazz Dance Festivals.
- He performed in 21Below! with Jennifer Holliday.
- He was part of Thank You Gregory: A Tribute to the Legends of Tap.
- He performed at the Darktown Strutters Ball Gala in 2010.
- He danced at the Career Transition for Dancers 20th Anniversary Jubilee in 2005.
- He also did special performances and choreography for the TV show Psych in the episode "Feet Don't Kill Me Now".
Jason Samuels Smith was the star in the first show of Imagine Tap! in Chicago. He also performed in India Jazz Suites. This was a special show with Kathak Master Pandit Chitresh Das. Kathak is a classical Indian dance form. After Das passed away, Jason continued to dance with his student Seema Mehta. Both Kathak and tap dancing use the feet a lot. The main difference is that Kathak is usually done barefoot, while tap dancers wear special shoes!
Jason also started his own tap dance company called A.C.G.I. (Anybody Can Get It). He also has a band called JaJa Productions. They play jazz-influenced hip hop music and have performed all over the United States. He even designed his own line of tap shoes with the company Bloch.
