Sound Space Performing Arts

I am proud to present our fourth annual holiday showcase - and the second recital that we presented outside this year. The fact that this showcase even happened is miraculous. Our studio was forced into a second lockdown on November 21. A few days after that, our first outside show location cancelled our reservation. With the help of our amazing dance families, MMPartners and our neighborhood supporters cheering us on, we were able to complete our fall session with a mix of ...online and outside classes, and our dancers were able to share their achievements, live, for close family members...and now, all of you! We are still a "new" studio in that our 'oldest' kids have only been dancing with us for 2.5 years. Some of our dancers in this video just started in September, and this is their first performance. What they have been able to accomplish in this video is no small feat. They are brave, dedicated, creative and driven young people with unlimited talent. We took on what looked to be impossible goals - goals that others didn't attempt - and we crushed them. It is a privilege to work with the best dance educators in the business: Jaye Allison, Phil Cuttino, Jr., Chania Garner and Beverly Rolfsmeyer. We made it through this year....the sky is the limit. - Pamela Hetherington https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS0wMVv0LHs&feature=youtu.

Pull up and get this knowledge! Tomorrow 1/16 starting at 4 pm. DM @jiptheruler for the info. #litefeet #litefeetnation #litefeetdance #litefeetdanceclass

America! #westsidestory

Come on! Our new hip hop performance team met for the first time yesterday in the studio and virtually (our girl Ellie S. is free styling via Zoom in cyberspace ) Follow the progress at @1_phillydreamteam and DM for more info! #brewerytown #phillydance #inspire #cypher #fastfeet

2nd to last tap class of the yeartonight 6:30 on Instagram Live. Come or don’t come. I’ll still be there, practicing

Old skool run-thru at the Rec with @jiptheruler Doing what we gotta do! . #ifyouknowyouknow #thisishowwedoit

I made this fun little video for the @fairmountcdc feed...and maybe you need a dance break, too! Who is shim shamming in the snow today? Thanks to my husband for taking his time finishing this backyard shed and giving me a perfect outdoor tap floor #vans #vansforlife

Wondering about the D.R.E.A.M team? Mr. Phil breaks it down! Jip The Ruler

follow us all day while we take over the Fairmount CDC instagram account!

TONIGHT! 6 pm! Be a a part of the first D.R.E.A.M. team!

Doing what we do! Five days until showtime . #brewerytown #theshowmustgoon #socialdisdance

What transformative idea, new skill or positive lesson have you taken from the pandemic? . Ms. Jaye: This pandemic taught me to pay attention to my inner child and once I did miracles happened! I produced a concert to relaunch my company to the virtual stage and combine multi dimensional content that reaches every single person in a way that makes lasting positive effects! It's brought visions to life bc there was time to complete them! And the enormous value of working with like minded people who push in unknown directions with bravery and smarts unparalleled! Thank you my dance daughter Pam for showing me the way through the fog of it all!! I followed her lead y'all!! . #attitudeiseverything #wegrowdancershere #brewerytown #phillydance #mindset #positivevibes

Ballet 2 kids looking great! This song is so pretty! #wegrowdancershere

Love me a tap polyrhythm! Start them young with the ear training! #wegrowdancershere

When it works, it works! Another old school technique from an old-timer And look at Mercy goms. Pam. #wegrowdancershere

Enjoying this happy #waybackwednesday in 2016, when Ms. Pam and Ms. Jaye went to City Hall to pick up this grant award, which allowed us to present a city-wide community-based educational program that invited world-renowned tap choreographers to our spectacular city! . (#greatthingshappeninphiladelphia goes without saying) . .... We are more than a dance studio. Many of the exciting and cool things that happen at Sound Space Performing Arts are a direct result of grant funding that supports and sustains our work. This year alone, thanks to generous grant funding, Ms. Pam has been able to forge a new educational partnership with Vaux Big Picture High School AND re-start her traveling youth tap ensemble. In this age of COVID-19, when arts budgets are being slashed like crazy, tours are cancelled and venues are closed - yet artists are probably the most productive and creative they have ever been - consider a holiday donation of any size to any one of the hundreds of organizations that make up the arts and culture ecosystem here in Philadelphia. You will ALWAYS have a tremendous return on your investment, when you support an artist! . . #phlartssaythnx #womenartists #leavealegacy #beendoingthisallourlives #andwedontstop See more

For us Philadelphia folks who have been around for-ever.our studio family runs deep! Case in point: the Underwoods! I just came upon this video, and it reminded me of how the arts are passed on from generations and through L O V E! In December 2016, I was hired to do a solo outdoor gig at the Woodford Mansion. I invited my long-time friend and collaborator, David Underwood, to play with me. The morning comes, it’s about 10 degrees, and we decide, OK, it’s really cold, but w...e will muscle through it. But, we got cold pretty fast. (While I never wear socks, I regret not wearing socks that day ) So, on that day, I met David’s aunt, Veronica Underwood. She came up the street from her house to help us get through the hours of cold weather we had to be playing outside. I then come to find out that Aunt V. sang and worked with Ms. Jaye and her dance company, back in the 1980s! The Underwoods are a musical family dynasty with deep roots. David and I still work together when we can, and the story doesn’t stop there! Now, David’s niece, Trinity Underwood, is a student in our ballet program. I can’t wait until December when, hopefully, many of the Underwoods can all descend on Cherry Street Pier to watch Trinity dance in our holiday showcase. Ms. Pam . #philadelphia #fairmountpark #tapdance #tapboard #tapdanceoutside #improvisation #beendoingthisallourlives #leavealegacy

coming up next!

#taphistorytuesday #tapdancehistoryisamericanhistory #womeninjazz #dukeellington Ruth and Louise Edwards, known primarily as The Edwards Sisters from Chicago, Illinois, are a rare sister tap dance teams, in a field that was dominated by men and brother-teams. They performed throughout the United States from the mid-1930s through the 1940s. ... Reviews acknowledge this female tap dance team as "one of the fastest dance teams in the business." Cheryl Willis, in her documentation of African-American female tap dancers in Philadelphia, writes: "Among the numerous song-and-dance acts of the 1940s, Ruth and Louis Edwards never attained the special status in their profession. For most of their career they were on the road, touring as added attraction with various big bands and stage revues." In this Duke Ellington film, Symphony in Swing (1949), they appear after the opening credits, dancing to the Ellington composition, "Suddenly It Jumped." The evidence we have is so beautifully recorded throughout time; that the connection of tap dance to the performance of live jazz music is inextricable and our legacy to continue. [Cheryl Willis, Tap Dance: Memories and Issues of African-American Women Who Performed between 1930-1950, PhD. Dissertation, Temple University, 1991)

Let's Bring Joy to the World on December 13! - https://mailchi.mp//decemberjanuary-digest-from-sound-spac

Our kids are always working on a show here at Sound Space Performing Arts... and this year, they have really learned what it means that the show must go on! We are thrilled to close out 2020 with a socially disDANCEd performance at the magnificent Cherry Street Pier. Our faculty has some pretty spectacular ideas in the works, and our kids are working so hard, as usual! With JOY in our hearts and our feet, we plan to close out this year on a high note . #socialdisdancing #theshowmustgoon #cherrystreetpier #greatthingshappeninphiladelphia #phillydance #makeithappen #leavealega

Some things never change.. like Elsa costumes for Halloween #dancefriends #frozen #iceblue

No bad news when we are wearing tap shoes! . #thewiz #techniquegeeks #wegrowtapdancershere

Thursdays I get to work with my mentees from @vaux_bphs on some really cool dance and community projects! Stay tuned....they are legit young artists and their work will drop in December! With thanks to @philaculturfund and the City Youth Impact Grant for making this program possible. Ms. Pam .#ilovewhatido #vauxbphs #realworldlearning #artchangeslives #brewerytown #youth #powerfulvoice