This past September Mountain View High School junior Preston Fisher won the Silver Medal (Male Solo Junior Division) in the 2023 IDO World Tap Dance Championship held in Germany. His winning piece PENNIES FROM HEAVEN was choreographed by TJI alum (2017) Brendan Kellam who helped the TJI Ellington Big Band win first place in the Essentially Ellington Competition in NYC. Here’s a YouTube clip of Brendan tapping to Bojangles.
The TJI combos have always loved performing Pennies at their jams throughout the years. It seemed a great fit to invite Preston to perform with them at the TJI Winter Concert. Unfortunately, the concert was postponed due to a fire in the school auditorium. When it is rescheduled, we sure hope Preston will be able to join in the performance.
Here’s a short clip of Preston rehearsing the piece for the first time during an TJI Ellington Band practice session. David Nguyen, TJI saxophonist, is doing his best to sing like Louis Prima!
Congratulations to Brendan Kellam, as well, for winning the Bronze Medal (Adult Male Solo Division) and becoming the 2023 WORLD CHAMPION CUTTING CONTEST WINNER. It’s really a ‘battle of the feet!’ The official title is World Champion of the Bill Fowler’s Tap Battle, aka Cutting Contest. Brendan graduated from the University of Arizona, started a tap dance company DXX TAP, and recently opened his own dance studio in NW Tucson. There is no stopping him and his passion for tap dance.
