Our Mission
The American Tap Dance Foundation (ATDF) is a non-profit 501c3 organization committed to establishing and legitimizing Tap as a vital component of American dance through creation, presentation, education, and preservation.  ATDF is recognized as a local, national and international leader in the field and continues to further three main objectives: 

• to perpetuate tap dance as a flourishing contemporary art form on a National and International level.
• to provide a basis for the growth of tap dance by teaching new generations through comprehensive educational programs.
• and to preserve the artistry of the early generations of tap masters.

Our Programs
Since 2001, the ATDF has produced Tap City, the annual New York City Tap Festival. Each year, Tap City offers expansive adult, pre-professional and youth training programs with internationally renowned teachers and numerous diverse premiere performances & city-wide events. The festival attracts hundreds of dancers, teachers, students, and masters from all over the world. Students and professionals from Brazil, Spain, Germany, Israel, Japan, France, Australia, Russia, and at least 28 nations value this opportunity to study and perform in an atmosphere devoted to celebrating tap dance. Each year, the festival’s “Hoofer” and “Tap Preservation” Awards are given to a tap dancer, educator and/or organization for their outstanding achievement, and contribution made to the field. In 2002, the ATDF created the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame to honor legendary tap dancers by preserving their legacy. 

On January 2, 2010, the American Tap Dance Foundation opened the doors to its current home, the American Tap Dance Center. A milestone accomplishment since more than 20 years ago, the Foundation pioneered one of New York City’s first tap dance studios, Woodpeckers Tap Dance Center. Now the foundation has a home for the close to 10,000 students, teachers, performers, scholars, historians and the general public each year thanks to an expansive list of programming, including: on-going Tap Classes for Youth, Teens and Adults; the Tap City Youth Ensemble; the Gregory Hines Youth Scholarship Fund, seasonal New Tap Choreography Showcases, occasional studio events, jams, talks and film presentations, a thriving Artists in Residence Program and an extensive Tap Teacher Training Program.

Most recently, the ATDF donated its extensive film, print, audio, and photo archives to the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.