Hillary-Marie Michael

A Native of New Jersey, HILLARY-MARIE MICHAEL is best known throughout the Tri-State area as a tap soloist, performer, choreographer and teacher who specializes in the American art form of rhythm tap dance. She established an entrepreneurial stance at a young age by managing local musicians in the tri-state area under Fireshot Promotions and is now one of the youngest successful directors and producers on the tap scene as the Founder and Director of Jersey Tap Fest, an annually fantastic New Jersey tap dance even that educates and serves diverse students with great passion for tap dance. As a reputable tap dance instructor, Hillary teaches weekly tapdance classes across the state of New Jersey. 

Hillary-Marie has been mentored by and assistant to Dr. Harold 'Stumpy' Cromer since 2007 and mentored by Karen Callaway Williams since 2004. As a belter and actress, she made her theatrical debut as Val in a regional production of A Chorus Line and now provides audiences with an afternoon of song and tap dance in her new show, What's On Tap? Hillary proudly became a member of the New Jersey Tap Ensemble under the direction of Founder and Artistic Director Ms. Deborah Mitchell in April 2006 and has since become a principal dancer for the First Company. She has been so fortunate to work with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Ballet, Russian Moscow Ballet, American Tap Dance Foundation, as well as award-winning composers Marvin Hamlisch, J. Leonard Oxley, Nikki Denner and Nat Adderley Jr.

Hillary-Marie has performed in many New Jersey venues, including Cafe Arabica, the Edward Nash Theatre, Montclair Arts Museum, the Morristown Community Theatre, the NJ State Theatre, NJPAC, Patriot's Stadium, Pianos, the Richardson Auditorium, Skipper's, the South Orange Performing Arts Center, The Priory, the Union County Performing Arts Center, the Westminster Arts Center and the Wilkins Theatre, as well as New York City's Battery Park, Cobi's Place, the Duke Theatre on 42nd Street, the Fashion Institute of Technology Haft Auditorium, Peter Norton Symphony Space, Small's Jazz Club, Showman's, The Kitchen, Washington DC's Duke Ellington Theatre and Smithsonian Museum, St. Louis' Blanch M. Touhill PAC,  and LosAngeles' Hamilton Performing Arts Center.

Outside of teaching and performance, she is a writer for Terrence Taps' Tap Dance Blog. Additionally, Hillary-Marie is a member of the International Tap Association and New Jersey Jazz Society, where she dedicates herself to keeping the art form of tap dance alive.