arts & entertainment

A Busy Dance Card

Former Detroiter returns home for annual
Motor City Tap Festival.

I

Suzanne Chessler

A panel discussion on the business of
tap, a tap jam and a participants' showcase
will be part of the schedule. Kaufman will
helby Kaufman feels lucky to be
conduct two teacher workshops and a class
dancing professionally, but the
for teachers or students. The class will
phrase "mazel toes" has come to
include styles beyond tap as she explores
mean much more.
choreography.
Mazel Toes is the name of the profes-
Among the faculty will be Bob Scheerer,
sional dance troupe she promotes for audi- an Emmy-winning producer and direc-
ences interested in Jewish culture and just
tor; Gregg Russell, an Emmy-nominated
one of the projects that fills
choreographer; Sarah Reich,
her dance card.
a guest performer on So You
Kaufman, who grew up
Think You Can Dance; Avi
in Michigan, returns to the
Miller and Ofer Ben, a dance
area to perform and teach at
team from Israel; and local
the Motor City Tap Festival,
actor Eric Gutman, a former
running Aug. 15-17 at dif-
cast member of Jersey Boys.
ferent Detroit locations. It is
Kaufman started dancing
the sixth year for the event
when she was 5 years old,
Shelby Kaufman will
organized by Denise Caston,
taking lessons at Annette and
perform a solo for
a Clarkston native who has
Company School of Dance in
Masters of Tap, on
worked as a Radio City
Farmington Hills.
Saturday, Aug. 17, at the
Rockette.
"I was there until I gradu-
Detroit Opera House.
"I will be doing a solo as
ated from West Bloomfield
part of the Saturday evening show, Masters High School" says Kaufman, the daughter
of Tap, because I am a faculty member at
of speech pathologist Nancy Kaufman and
the festival" says Kaufman, 28, in a phone
attorney Joel Kaufman. "I was incredibly
conversation from her New York home.
invested in it.
"I have a youth ensemble in Michigan
"During my senior year, I was teach-
called GLYDE (Great Lakes Youth Dance
ing classes, assisting in classes and taking
Ensemble), and this will be our fourth year classes. I was at the studio seven hours a
performing for the tap event.
day, five days a week. Dancing always has
"I haven't decided what I will do for my
been part of my identity"
solo, but I know I'd like to bring a different
Kaufman prioritized communica-
feeling to the show. I like to entertain audi- tion and film studies at the University of
ences in different ways and bring variety
Michigan, keeping up with dance by tak-
into the performances"
ing jazz classes and participating with two
Motor City Tap Festival has become a
student groups. She was on the board and
nonprofit event, allowing dance enthusi-
the director of one group.
asts to contribute to scholarship and spon-
"I moved to New York after graduation
sorship opportunities.
and was trying to make a career out of

Contributing Writer

S

Jews

Nate Bloom

Special to the Jewish News

At The Movies
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, now

in theaters, a sequel to the 2010 fan-
tasy box-office smash Percy Jackson
and the Lightning Thief, once again
stars Logan Lerman, 21, as the title
character, a modern teen who is the
son of an ancient Greek god.
These films open on Friday, Aug. 9:
The comedy-drama In a World ...
stars Lake Bell, who also wrote and
directed the flick (although Bell's
father is Jewish, she doesn't identify
as a member of the tribe) as Carol, a
struggling vocal coach. Her TV father,
Sam (Fred Melamed, 57), is "the king"
of voiceover artists. Tension between

36

August 8 • 2013

Carol and her father
goes into high gear
when she beats out
his protege for a
primo voiceover gig.
Lovelace purports
) to tell the true story
behind the making
Melamed
of the famous 1972
porno film Deep
Throat and covers some of the events
that followed its release.
Amanda Seyfried stars as the late
Linda Lovelace, the star of Throat.
Appearing in a major supporting
role is Hank Azaria, 49, as the film's
director. Adam Brody, 33, appears
as the late Harry Reems (ne Herbert
Streicher), who co-starred opposite
Lovelace, and James Franco, 35, has

something more conventional, but
I still wanted to be in the entertain-
ment industry" she says.
"I did internships at film com-
panies, but I wasn't happy because
I wasn't dancing enough. That's
when I switched to being a full-time
dancer.
"The only way to make a living as
a dancer in New York is to teach a
lot. I have the rest of my time free to
Shelby Kaufman started dancing when she
choreograph"
was 5 years old, taking lessons at Annette and
Kaufman, who was assistant
Company School of Dance in Farmington Hills.
choreographer for the musical
FreckleFace Strawberry (based on
"I'm writing a musical about the late
the children's books by actress Julianne
Harold Cromer" she says. "I used to teach
Moore) in New York, has taught for
with him in New York. At last year's tap
the Broadway Dance Center, Steps on
festival in Detroit, I co-taught with Harold
Broadway and the American Tap Dance
and performed one of his numbers with
Foundation.
40 people.
She dances with Brenda Bufalino's
"I'm trying to incorporate my different
New American Tap Dance Orchestra and
skills into the entertainment world:'
Germaine Salsberg's Les Femmes.
Kaufman has kept in touch with a dance
"Mazel Toes has Jewish professional
instructor from Annette and Company,
dancers" says Kaufman, who took reli-
Josh Bergasse, who choreographed the TV
gious classes at Adat Shalom Synagogue
series Smash.
in Farmington Hills and participated in
"I assisted Josh with a number in a
BBYO activities. "We do secular pieces and choreography showcase in New York" says
funky pieces with Jewish themes"
Kaufman, who has appeared with Murray
"I teach seven days a week and haven't
Monster on Sesame Street. "He has written
had the ability to focus on the group, but
a letter of recommendation for me for cho-
it's coming along. We've performed for
reography work"
audiences of Orthodox women and for Tap
City Main Event" a pre-eminent tap festi-
The Motor City Tap Festival runs
val in New York City.
Aug. 15-17 at different Detroit
When Kaufman visits family in
locations and concludes with the
Michigan, she makes time to lead master
show Masters of Tap at 7:30 p.m.
classes.
Saturday, Aug.17, at Orchestra
The dance enthusiast, who is single, relax-
Hall. $25-$40. (917) 687-4811;
es by watching television. She also enjoys
motorcitytapfest.com .
going to stage shows and movies.

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a cameo as Playboy publisher Hugh
Hefner.
The film, which covers Lovelace's
later claims that she was coerced
to make the movie, was written and
directed by Rob Epstein, 58, and
Jeffrey Friedman, 61.

Vineyard Tales

The original HBO film Clear History
premieres at 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug.10.
Larry David, 63, co-writer, stars as
marketing executive Nathan Flomm,
who, after a dispute with his boss,
Will Haney (Jon Hamm), leaves the
company he works for and gives up
his company shares — right before the
company hits it big with a new electric
car.
Flomm moves to Martha's Vineyard

and plots revenge
when Haney and his
wife, Rhonda (Kate
Hudson, 34), move
to the Vineyard to
build a new home.
Look for an unrec-
ognizable Liev
David
Schreiber, 45, as a
Russian gangster.
Martha's Vineyard also is the setting
for The Vineyard, a new ABC Family
reality show (new shows air at 10 p.m.
Tuesdays) about 12 real-life young
adults who share a house and work
at a restaurant on the island. One is
Daniel Lipshutz, a hunky University of
Wisconsin student who is a member of
Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi and
also works as a personal trainer.

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