Dancers

Artistic Director

Kat Echevarria Richter, MA began her apprenticeship with the New Jersey Tap Ensemble at the age of nine. She trained under Karen Callaway Williams, Paris Mann, and the Ensemble’s Artistic Director, Deborah Mitchell, and was promoted to Principal Dancer while still in high school. In 2005, she received a scholarship for a year of study at Oxford University, where she choreographed several productions, and returned to the UK in 2009 to pursue her Masters in Dance Anthropology. A regular performer at the London Tap Jam, Kat wrote her MA dissertation on the performance of tap’s “national anthem,” the Shim Sham Shimmy, and continues to teach and present research throughout the US and the UK. She also writes for Dance Teacher Magazine and Dance Spirit and has set works for numerous companies including Chorégraphie Antique, the Bryn Mawr School for Girls, and The Lady Hoofers.

In 2011, she co-produced Too Darn Hot, an all-female, all-tap revue for the Philly Fringe Festival. At this time, she co-founded The Lady Hoofers. In addition to directing The Lady Hoofers, Kat is a professor of Cultural Anthropology and Dance. She teaches at Stockton University and writes for the Philadelphia Dance Journal.

Managing Director

Katie Budris, MFA hails from Chicago, Illinois where she trained in multiple forms of dance and began cultivating her love for tap as a founding member of Footprints Tap Ensemble in 1995. She minored in dance at NASD accredited Hope College where she performed with InSync Dance Theatre, Michigan's only professional tap and jazz company. Katie's early tap performance credits include Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, The Nutcracker on Broadway, Walt Disney World's 25th Anniversary Celebration, Dance Chicago, Chicago Human Rhythm Project, and Chicago Tap Theatre's Liason.

Katie joined The Lady Hoofers in 2012 to perform at City Hall Presents, and she quickly advanced to Assistant Director, and now Managing Director. Her choreography is performed regularly by The Lady Hoofers, and has also been featured in several high school productions and Footprints Tap Ensemble's annual Tap Jam. Her piece Unchain My Heart was selected for performance at the DanceUSA Conference in 2013. In addition to directing The Lady Hoofers, Katie is a Senior Lecturer of Writing Arts at Rowan University.

Associate Director

Tamera Dallam is a performer and teacher who put on her first pair of tap shoes in 2004 and hasn’t stop tapping since. Tamera teaches Rhythmic Tap at Parkside Academy of Music and Dance and has choreographed several award-winning dances. She has performed at the Suzanne Roberts Theater, Performance Garage, and Walter Gordon Theatre. Tamera spends her free time attending tap festivals where she has taken master classes with Chloe Arnold, Jason Samuel Smith, Dianne Walker, and Sarah Reich. Tamera joined The Lady Hoofers in 2015 as a First Company Member. She has particularly enjoyed the opportunity to learn and perform new works from guest artists Caleb Teicher and Michele Dunleavy.

First Company Dancers

Brittany Beatty a Philadelphia native, joined The Lady Hoofers as an Apprentice in 2016 and was promoted to First Company in 2019. Additional performance credits include The Bucks County Playhouse, The McCarter Theater and Nantucket Dreamland Theater. She started her dance training at Kay’s Act II Dance Studio, where her passion for tap began. Brittany is a graduate of Muhlenberg College, where she earned a double B.A. in Theater and Dance. During her collegiate years, Brittany studied under Shelley Oliver, performed in numerous faculty pieces, and was selected to perform in the Muhlenberg Tap Ensemble. Brittany also performed in multiple Main Stage Theater and Muhlenberg Summer Theater productions, where she worked with New York artists such as Germaine Salzberg and Jason Edwards. Highlighted roles include Becky Two-Shoes in Urinetown and Prudie in Pump Boys in Dinettes.

Michaela Clovis has trained at various schools throughout the tri-state area, including Center Stage, Princeton Dance and Theater, Princeton Ballet, the Rock School, Alvin Ailey, and the Royal Danish Ballet under the direction of Vivi Flindt. She was accepted into Alvin Ailey's Pre Professional Fellowship Program where she trained in West African, Horton, Graham, ballet, tap, and pointe technique. Michaela obtained her B.A. in International Business from Franklin University Switzerland where she served as Vice President and President of the University’s dance group, Lugano Street Dance, which taught and performed hip hop, modern and Latin dance. She has participated in many shows in the Philadelphia area since 2015 including The Dance Outlet Project, Koresh Artist Showcase & Come Together Dance Festival, ETC Series, CHI Movement Arts Dance Center, The Ritz Theater, and more. Michaela joined The Lady Hoofers as an Apprentice in 2016 and was promoted to First Company in 2021.

Jenny Husta, from Mullica Township, NJ, has trained in ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, and modern since the age of 3. She quickly recognized her passion for tap and has attended multiple tap festivals where she learned from Ayodele Casel, Jason Samuels Smith, and many others. During her collegiate years, she studied tap under Rochelle Haynes and Kat Echevarria Richter. In 2020, Jenny graduated from Stockton University where she earned her B.A. in Dance with a concentration in Pre-Movement Science. Performance credits include Stockton University’s Spring Dance Concerts and Emerging Choreographer’s Showcases, where she performed her own choreography, as well as many performances as a member of the Stockton University Dance Team. She enjoys teaching and choreographing tap, as well as other styles, at studios and high schools throughout NJ. Jenny joined The Lady Hoofers as an Apprentice in 2021 and was quickly promoted to First Company.

Katherine Moore is a percussionist with decades of tap dance and music experience. At the University of Pennsylvania studying Cognitive Science and Music, she was the director of Soundworks Tap Factory, choreographed multiple pieces, and performed with Da Boom Dance Company. Also at Penn, Katherine learned tabla (Indian) drums and played percussion in the Penn Band. Later, she was a member of both Taps and Steppin’ Out at Yale University. In 2015, Katherine returned to Philadelphia and joined The Lady Hoofers. Outside of the ensemble, Katherine occasionally dances as part of the jazz concert series at Arcadia University, where Katherine is a Professor. At Arcadia, she teaches Psychology of Music, Cross-Cultural Psychology, Neuroscience, Perception, and Research Methods, and is the faculty advisor for the Scarlet Steppers. In her spare time, she enjoys singing and dancing with her husband and three children.

Melissa Morse from Edison, NJ, has trained in tap, ballet, pointe, jazz, contemporary, and modern. She earned a B.S. in Dance and Biology from Muhlenberg College with concentrations in Performance, Pedagogy, and Dance Science. During her collegiate years, Melissa performed in several mainstage productions, working with student, faculty, and guest artists including Kevin Jenkins, Trinette Singleton, Shelley Oliver, and Karen Dearborn. Melissa was also selected to perform with the Muhlenberg Jazztap Ensemble, a touring ensemble focused on community outreach in public schools, under the direction of Shelley Oliver. Her choreography has been presented at Muhlenberg College and Dixon Place. When she’s not dancing, Melissa can be found in the laboratory, working as a Pharmaceutical Microbiologist. She joined The Lady Hoofers as an Apprentice in 2019 and was promoted to First Company in 2021. She also serves at their Administrative Intern.

Meg Sarachan is a dancer, choreographer, and dance filmmaker who specializes in dance films and has worked with many Philadelphia-area dance groups, including The Lady Hoofers, Pennsylvania Ballet, BalletX, Dancefusion, Tap Team Two, Uniting Colleges Through Tap, the Bryn Mawr College Dance Program, and Group Motion. She edited the documentary Black Ballerina (2016), which aired on PBS and explores issues of diversity in American classical dance. Her stage performance style has been described as “playful,” “nearly maniacal,” and “kind of like a muppet.” Meg joined the Lady Hoofers in 2012, and no one has managed to get her to leave. If you think she dances well, credit goes to Cassidy Dance Studio, Brown University’s What’s On Tap?, for which she served as co-director, and hoofer Corinne Karon. If you’re not impressed, that’s all on her. She can take it. Visit her online at: http://www.megvideo.net/

Mary Kate Selby from Skippack, PA, is a dance educator, choreographer, curator, and First Company dancer with The Lady Hoofers. She joined the ensemble in 2016 and also serves as the Wardrobe Manager. Mary Kate earned a B.A. in Dance and a minor in Business Administration at DeSales University where she performed and presented choreography in numerous Emerging Choreographers Concerts and danced with DeSales Traveling Performance Company. Additional performance credits include New Street Dance Company, Philadelphia Fringe Arts, and Ten Tiny Dances. Her choreography has been presented in The Koresh Young Artist Showcase, The Edge Performance Series, Ten Tiny Dances, and has been set on X-Tensions Dance Company for which she has received various choreography awards. Mary Kate is currently teaching faculty in various styles at The Dance Centre. She also founded The Village Showcase, an annual outdoor performance series that takes place in Skippack, PA.

Sarah Vogan began her training at a young age. Her performance highlights include: ABC Boscov's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Sunoco Welcome America 4th of July Parades, Republican National Convention, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell Inauguration Parade, and in 2003, Sarah made her debut dancing at Carnegie Hall in concert with Janellen Farmer. While acquiring her BA in dance at Mount Holyoke College, she choreographed an adjudicated piece for the American College Dance Association national festival. In 2007, she traveled to Ireland to teach American tap dance, while studying Irish step dance with international champions, Jim Hickey and Justin Walsh. Sarah teaches at many dance studios in the greater Philadelphia area and choreographs musicals for local schools and community theaters, including the Barn Playhouse and Forge Theater. She was most recently recognized by Camille Bacon-Smith of Broad Street Review as the "star turn" of The Lady Hoofers' annual spring concert, On Tap, performing "Booty Swing," a solo choreographed by Artistic Director, Kat Richter. Sarah joined The Lady Hoofers as an Apprentice in 2016 and was promoted to First Company in 2019.

Apprentice Dancers

Emily Bartholf began dancing when she was 3 and still attends Parkside Academy of Music and Dance where she studies several dance styles including tap, ballet, jazz, and modern. Emily has won two Broadway Stars from Access Broadway, place first in her age bracket. She has also taken classes with a number of tap masters through Tap Ties and The Lady Hoofers, including Germaine Salsberg, Robert Burden, and Caleb Teicher. Emily joined The Lady Hoofers in 2017 as a Youth Ensemble dancer and was invited to be an Apprentice in 2020.

Tyana Henderson began her dance training at Gotta Dance studio at the age of 5 and later transferred to Center Stage Studio of Performing Arts to continue her tap training. She has also studied jazz, modern, hip-hop, ballet, and pointe. She began her tenure with The Lady Hoofers as a Youth Ensemble dancer in 2014 and was promoted to Apprentice in 2018. Some of her notable performances include THE TAPCRACKER and On Tap with The Lady Hoofers, and The Scrooge with Center Stage Studio of Performing Arts at the Ritz Theatre. Tyana has taken master classes under Caleb Teicher, Danny Gardner, and Dolores Sanchez. She now attends the University of Delaware where she is studying to obtain her Bachelor of Science in Global Enterprise Management.

Julianna Herrera from Ventnor, NJ, began her dance training at the age of 7. She is trained in ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, modern, and hip hop, but discovered her affinity for tap early on. Throughout high school, Julianna competed with TLC Academy of Dance, where she competed multiple tap solos. She is currently attending Rutgers University, New Brunswick, majoring in Landscape Architecture and considering a minor in Dance. Julianna joined the Lady Hoofers as an Apprentice in 2022.

Ariella Nelson from Mercer Island, WA, began dancing at three years old. She studied and performed ballet, tap, lyrical, and jazz at Definitive Dance Studio. Ariella was a choreographer and frequent dance soloist for her show choir, Island Sound. She is pursuing a major in economics and minors in mathematics and statistics at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is part of Soundworks Tap Factory, Penn Ballet, and is a choreographer for multiple student musical theater groups on campus. She also serves as assistant performance director for Penn Ballet. Ariella joined The Lady Hoofers as an Apprentice in 2022.

Molly Penhale from King of Prussia, PA, started dancing at the age of 3 at Upper Merion Dance and Gymnastics Center. Tap dancing has long been her favorite form of dance, but she is also trained in ballet, jazz, contemporary, and hip hop. In 2015, she performed as Clara in her studio company’s annual Nutcracker performance. Notable performances include the annual Tap Ties’ concert in the Lehigh Valley, and the 2021 Philadelphia Youth Dance Festival. She has taken master classes with Dolores Sanchez, Caleb Teicher, and Michele Dunleavy. Outside of dance, she is a member of her high school’s color-guard. Molly joined The Lady Hoofers Youth Ensemble in 2015 when she was 10 years old, and was invited to become an Apprentice in 2021.

Deonna Powell, from Middlesex, NJ, began her training at age 4 at Chez Renee the Studio of Dance. Studying tap, jazz, ballet, hip hop, lyrical, acrobatics, and contemporary, it became clear her passion and talent lies within the style of tap when awarded her first solo in 2013. Deonna is pursuing a dual-degree at Stockton University where she is majoring in Psychology (B.A.) and Health Sciences (B.S.), while minoring in Dance. She has taken master classes with Chloe Arnold, Maud Arnold, and Mark Orsborn; notable performance credits include two invitations to PowerPak, multiple competitions, and Stockton University’s “Spring Dance Concert” and “Fall Choreography Project.” Deonna joined The Lady Hoofers as an Apprentice in 2021.

Chloe Shupe, from Houston, TX, began her tap training at age 5. She has also studied jazz, ballet, pointe, and contemporary. She recently graduated from the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston with a concentration in oboe. Throughout high school, she competed with the West University Performing Company. Chloe is now pursuing a mathematics degree at Bryn Mawr College as a part of the class of 2024. She was also selected to perform with Shift Dance Company, a contemporary performing ensemble at Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges. She has attended master classes with Chloe Arnold, Nick Young, Jason Luks, and Savion Glover. Chloe joined The Lady Hoofers as an Apprentice in 2020.

Sammie Smith, from Worcester Township PA, started dancing at the age of 4. She currently is a senior at Methacton High school and dances at The Dance Centre in Skippack. Sammie is trained in various styles of dance including ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, and hip hop, however tap has always been her favorite. She is a part of Xtensions Dance Company, and has attended various dance competitions with them. Sammie has been recognized at various dance conventions including Excel in Motion and Jump. She also has attended various Tap Ties workshops, and performed at their National Tap Dance Day Showcase. Sammie joined The Lady Hoofers Youth Ensemble in 2021, and was offered an Apprenticeship in 2022.

Mia Spallina, from Manahawkin, NJ, began her dance training when she was 3 years old. Currently attending Movement Dance Academy, she takes classes in tap, contemporary, jazz, and ballet. Mia also studies under Deborah Mitchell with the New Jersey Tap Ensemble as a part of their NJTAP2 program. In addition to her dance studies, she is a trained vocalist and cellist who enjoys musical theatre and playing on her school field hockey team. Mia joined The Lady Hoofers as a Youth Ensemble dancer in 2017 and was invited to become an Apprentice in 2020.

Tara Tucci, from Pilesgrove, NJ, began tap dancing at the age of 3. She studied and competed in dance at Adams Dance Academy and South Jersey Dance Center. Currently, she is pursuing a BA in Dance, a BS in Environmental Sciences, as well as a minor in Biology at Rowan University, where she is also part of Dance Extensions, a contemporary company, and the Vice President of Hoofers Club, a tap club on campus. Some notable awards include winning 3rd place overall at Believe National Talent competition in 2021, and being the 2022 recipient for the Rita Hamilton Memorial Scholarship in Dance. She has taken master classes from Michael Minery, Savion Glover, Jared Grimes, Sarah Reich, and many more. Tara joined The Lady Hoofers as an Apprentice in 2022.

Sarah Taylor, from Philadelphia, PA, began her tap training at age 3. She currently lives in Delanco, NJ and studies at Dance Xperience where she also dances in their competition team. In addition to tap, Sarah has also trained in jazz, musical theatre, lyrical, hip hop, modern, ballet and pointe. She joined The Lady Hoofers Youth Ensemble in 2020 and was offered an Apprenticeship in 2022.

Associate Dancers

Kennedy Barnes, from Bear, DE, started dancing at the age of 2. Her first role was “Molly” in the Everette Theatre’s production of Curtain Up in the Annie section. She started dancing at Delaware Arts Conservatory in 2008 and joined their competitive dance team in 2010. In 2016, Kennedy was awarded a Priscilla Payson Scholarship for her tap performance. She used the scholarship to continue her training at the New Jersey Tap Festival and the Big Apple Tap Festival, and joined Delaware Arts Conservatory's pre-professional company that same year. As part of the Musical Theatre program at Delaware Arts Conservatory, she was cast as “Alice” in their adaptation of Alice in Wonderland – Jr. She has choreographed numerous productions for Wilmington Friends School including Guys and Dolls, Bye Bye Birdie, Shrek: The Musical, The Addams Family, and The Music Man. In 2017, Kennedy studied under Robin Passmore, dance captain of Apartment 33, as a member of Sole Talk Youth Company, directed by Chloe and Maud Arnold. Kennedy is currently studying at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Rickia Dallam began studying dance at the age of three and is pursuing a full-time career in dance. During her fifteen years of training at Parkside Academy of Music and Dance in Parkside, PA, Rickia regularly performed solos and was featured in lead roles with Parkside Performing Arts Company, including in The Nutcracker as the Lilac Fairy and the Sugar Plum Fairy. She is currently a dance major at Oklahoma City University where she is a member of the American Spirit Dance Company. In 2017, she originated the titular role in The Lady Hoofers' annual production of THE TAPCRACKER. Rickia joined The Lady Hoofers Tap Ensemble as a member of the Youth Ensemble in 2016 and was promoted to Apprentice in 2018. She is currently majoring in dance performance at Oklahoma City University.

Jessica Dodds, from Chester Springs, PA began her dance training at the age of 4. She currently trains at Lionville School of Dance where she studies tap, ballet, jazz, hip-hop, musical theatre, and contemporary dance. Beyond weekly training, Jessica assists with classes and performs her own choreography. Jessica has attended masterclasses with Aaron Parkhurst, Jason Janas, Mike Minery, and Anthony Morigerato. She joined The Lady Hoofers Youth Ensemble in 2018 and continued her training with the company as an Apprentice, including performing with the company at Koresh’s Come Together Dance Festival (2019). She is currently attending the CLI Conservatory pre-professional dance program in Easthampton, MA.

Molly Layden, originally from Honolulu, HI, discovered her love of dance at the age of three. Since moving to Pennsylvania, she has trained in all styles of dance including tap, jazz, ballet, contemporary, and modern. Notable performance credits include the Philadelphia Youth Dance Festival and the debut cabaret for The Company Theatre in Chester Springs, PA. Molly began with The Lady Hoofers in 2016 as a member of the Youth Ensemble and was invited to continue as an Apprentice in 2018. She is currently pursuing her B.A. in both Dance and Media & Communications at Muhlenberg College as a member of the class of 2024.

Abigail Stinson, from Stewartsville, NJ, joined The Lady Hoofers Tap Ensemble as a Youth Ensemble member and quickly transitioned to Apprentice in 2019. She began dancing at two years old at Showbiz Kidz Dance Center and since then, she has studied ballet, tap, acro, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, and modern. Performance credits include dancing with the Rutgers Junior Knights Dance team in 2017 and 2018 as well as training and performing with the Tap Ties Company. Abigail has taken master classes with Germaine Salsberg, Luke Hickey, Gianna Martello, and Justin Ballasy. She is currently studying at Villanova University in Villanova, PA.