Junior Laniyan
Co-founder and
Host 2006 to 2016
Junior Laniyan is an accomplished actor/tap dancer, having appeared on stage at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in Out Of The Blues, New York on Tap, Cross Currents Turned on Tap and Finding Synaesthesia (London/Venice Jazz festivals), Robbie Williams Live at the Royal Albert Hall, Los Sones Negros, Riverdance, Master Juba, Blues for Mr. Charlie, Fences & Hamlet.
Junior has also performed with the Stan Tracey Orchestra and is a founding member of the UK tap company AboutTime and the Michele Drees Jazz Tap Project with whom he has had the pleasure of opening for the Jazz legend Jon Hendricks at Ronnie Scott’s & performing at the Purcell Room as part of the London Jazz Festival as well as being invited to Sāo Carlos, Brazil to perform as part of Ernesto Júlio de Nazareth music festival
Television credits include Doctor Who and Holby City for the BBC. Stealing Lives for Channel Four. Family Affairs for Channel 5 and Twenty-Four Seven, Wavelength Prime suspect 2 and Coronation Street for Granada Television. Movie credits include 28 Days Later and Kill, Kill, Faster, Faster.
His tap choreography credits include Sky 1’s Louis Spence’s Show Business, Net A Porter’s online Autumn Winter Shoes Campaign and a commercial for Arab Idol. He was also a Dance Consultant for London’s 2012 Olympic opening ceremony.
Melody Lander
Co-founder / Event organiser 2006-2021
As well as being a tap dancer, Melody is also a documentary producer/director, having many years experience working on factual programming broadcast on BBC1, BBC2, ITV and Channel 4. Melody was part of the team that produced the critically acclaimed Channel 4 series Last Chance Kids, which won a Royal Television Society award and was nominated for a Grierson Award.
From the age of eight, she initially learnt to tap dance through completing the traditional British ISTD syllabus. After a considerable break from the art form, in 2002 she discovered Junior Laniyan's rhythm tap classes at Pineapple Dance Studios in Covent Garden, where she was introduced to the world of rhythm tap dance and improvisation and hasn't looked back since.
She has been privileged enough to have studied with the likes of Heather Cornell and Roxane Butterfly. Improvisation is where her passion lies.
Lee Payne
Host
2019 to present
Lee’s career has seen him perform with the likes of Gabrielle, Enrique Iglesias and the Pussycat Dolls. His extensive experience in musical theatre has seen Lee perform in Riverdance for 11 years, Magic of the Dance and Singing in the Rain at the National Theatre in Leeds, whilst his theatre credits include Bouncers, Jeckyl and Hyde, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and Hamlet.
Lee has toured with the street dance troupe Diversity and performed with them at the VE Day celebrations on BBC1.
He has many television credits to his name including Sky 1’s Got to Dance, Top Of The Pops and the Des O’Conner Show, as well as numerous broadcasts of his Riverdance performance on television stations all over the world.
Michèle Drees
The Michèle Drees Trio. band leader.
EVENT ORGANISER
2008 to Present
Michèle Drees is a well-established drummer on the London Music scene for decades.
She has been a supporting musician to many truly great Artists across lots of genres including Marc Almond, Kirsty MacColl, Badmarsh & Shri, Seal, Freakpower and Ive Mendes amongst many others. Playing in the house band for the Jonathan Ross show with KD Lang, Susanne Vega, Candy Dulfer, Mica Paris and more.
Michèle has worked extensively in Jazz and Latin, performing with many of her contemporaries that have gone on to great acclaim.
Including Clare Martin, Ian Shaw, Jean Toussaint, Gill Manly, Deirdre Cartwright and Dill Katz. She currently heads up her own band called The Michele Drees JAZZ TAP PROJECT.
Michèle has a deep love for rhythm tap dance, this being the first craft she fell in love with as a little girl.
Michèle's trio has played for the London Tap Jam at Ronnie Scotts since 2009. Her vision now is to create spectacular arrangements where by Rhythm Tap takes it's rightful place alongside the musicians as percussionists. Michèle is also a talented singer songwriter and interpreter of Brasilian Bossa Novas, another of her lifelong passions. A drummer that combines so many influences into her playing, this has developed into a truly individual expressive intricate voice.
Annette Walker
Renegade Stage
Annette performs as a freelance hoofer and often collaborates with jazz musicians and bands as well as tap dancers.
Annette has performed in numerous cabarets, festivals and special concerts such as Turned on Tap, which was at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre. Annette has also appeared on television with tap group AboutTime.
In 2019 Annette featured as the tap soloist in BBC Prom 54: Ellington’s Sacred Music at the Royal Albert Hall.
In theatre Annette represented the tap dance character “Master Juba” in the Fittings Multimedia Arts production of Master Juba, The Wonder of the World. In another theatre production, Edmund the Learned Pig, Annette played the role of “Aeriella” which included acting, tap dancing, aerial silks, drumming, singing and basic sign language.
In addition to performing, Annette occasionally teaches tap dance workshops and she is a member of The Tap Dance Research Network UK, which brings together researchers, artists, academics and practitioners.
Dan Sheridan
Co-founder /CO-PRODUCER
2006 TO 2018
Dan took up tap dance while dating a clog dancer, and has been hooked ever since. He has studied with many different teachers while moving round the country, and was introduced to improvisation at a workshop in Edinburgh with one of Junior's students. Since then, he's been privileged to study with Josh Hilberman, Heather Cornell and Max Pollak. He regularly attends the TapMotif festival in Greece, and in 2009 directed one of the student projects for performance in Athens.
Not just a tap dancer, Dan is a traditional sword dancer with Thrales Rapper, and also dances with Gog Magog Molly in Cambridge.
Dr Sheridan is a site reliability engineer at Google, having previously worked as a consultant to the nuclear industry in the UK and abroad.
Jess Murray
host/ORGANISER (2015 to 2018)
Jess is recognised as a leading artist in the UK’s rhythm tap community and is the project manager of Tap Rhythm Project Nottingham.
Jess has appeared at the Purcell Rooms (London Jazz Festival) with Heather Cornell in Finding Synaesthesia and again with Andrew Nemr and Junior Laniyan as part of the Michele Drees Jazz Tap Project. She has also performed with MDJTP as the opening act for the legendary John Hendrix at Ronnie Scotts. As a member of UK rhythm tap company AboutTime Jess has performed at The Tristan Bates Theatre in the West End, Chequer Mead Theatre in East Grinstead, Bath Dance Festival, Unity Festival – O2 Arena and the Greenwich Dance Agency cabaret evening amongst others.
Jess is a lead artist in SoundMoves that explores dance and music improvisation across a range of dance forms and music cultures. Jess has also created work that was performed at Band on the Wall and Contact Theatre.
Jess has worked for Fittings Multimedia Arts to develop the street show Master Juba which was performed at The National Theatre, Kendal Mint Fest and in Liverpool and Belfast. Jess was also commissioned by the BBC to create an ensemble tap piece for the children’s show Zingzillas.
Jess hosted tap jams for Tap Rhythm Project in Manchester and now hosts regular tap jams in Nottingham and is the founder of The Tap Dance Research Network UK, which brings together researchers, artists, academics and practitioners.
