Hotham St/Carlisle St, Balaclava VIC 3183, Australia
Drum Lessons | Percussion Lessons | Artist development, Theory Lessons, Jazz Improvisation Lessons, Music And Movement For Under Fives, VCE Music Exam Preparation, Skype Lessons
Bio
Charlie is a professional drummer, tap dancer, and instrumental music teacher based in Melbourne, Australia. He has studied and practiced both art forms for 14 years, beginning in Tokyo, Japan, initially learning tap from Misumi “Smilie” Yukiko (ARTN Tap Dance Studio, Tokyo), as well as other legendary world-class tap dancers, including Grant Swift (Melbourne), Savion Glover (Happy Feet), Melinda Sullivan (La La Land), Maurice Hines (The Hines Brothers), Dormeshia Sumbry Edwards (one of Michael Jackson’s tap dance teachers), and other well-known names. He has performed and taken classes/workshops at tap dance festivals in Melbourne, Tokyo, New York City, Chicago, and Stockholm.
As for drumming, Charlie studied and completed a Bachelor of Applied Music (Performance) at Box Hill Institute, Melbourne, learning from drumming greats Robi Parolin, Dave Beck, and Tony Floyd. He has performed as a drummer in numerous bands at countless shows and two musicals (Legally Blonde, and Adams Family, both at The National Theatre, Melbourne), playing drums for major tap dance live jam shows in Tokyo, Melbourne, and Stockholm, and competing at Mount Gambier’s Generations in Jazz in 2016, 2017, and 2019.
Charlie is an active drummer in various Melbourne-based bands across a wide range of musical genres, regularly performing at live gigs.
As part of Charlie’s Box Hill Institute studies, he completed a unit in teaching, and for the past 2 years, he has been teaching at schools and privately, both drums and tap dancing. Charlie is “Working with Children” certified.
Charlie’s drumming and tap dancing style uniquely combines rhythm, groove, improvisation, and musicality. The opportunity to learn one or the other or both art forms from one teacher is very rare and represents an opportunity not to be missed.
Awards:
- 5x Winner of Improvisation Competitions at the Australian Tap Dance Festival
- Audience Choice award at the Australian Tap Dance Festival Capezio Showcase (2016)
- Winner of Improvisation Competition at the New York Tap City Festival (Kids Category, 2013)
Teaching Info
Charlie’s drumming classes not only focus on the fundamental rudiments, stick techniques, and sight reading but also on groove-based rhythms, such as playing along to different styles of music, including rock, jazz, pop, funk, and Latin. Students will also be able to learn about the history of drumming via videos of the great drum masters of the past and present.
Tap dance classes focus on learning fundamental tap steps from beginner to advanced level, working on various rhythmic phrases through warm-ups, choreography, and improvisation while strengthening coordination and balance.
From a rhythmic perspective, drumming and tap dancing are inextricably linked. To name just a few, Sammy Davis Jr., Buddy Rich, Steve Gadd, and Fred Astaire studied both art forms.
Various options are available for lesson duration, giving students the unique option of either just drumming or tap dancing or a combination of both within one lesson.
- 30-minute tap dance lesson
- 30-minute drumming lesson
- 1 hour drumming lesson
- 1 hour tap dance lesson
- Combination 1-hour drum and tap dance lesson (30 minutes each) $80