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Jason Samuels Smith (performer, choreographer, director) has emerged as a multi-talented leader in the Art form of Tap. He received a Dance Magazine Award as well as an Emmy and American Choreography Award for "Outstanding Choreography" for the Opening number of the Jerry Lewis/MDA Telethon. Mr. Samuels-Smith has also received the Gregory Hines Humanitarian Award; Certificate of Appreciation by the City of Los Angeles for creating the First Annual Los Angeles Tap Festival in 2003; a Proclamation declaring April 23rd "Jason Samuels Day" from the City of Shreveport, Louisiana; the "Ivy of Education" from Brainerd Institute; the "President Kenny Award" from Stony Brook; an Alpert/McDowell Residency Award; an Arts International Grant; National Performance Network and Map funding among others in support of his work.

Choreography and performances include Mya on CBS's Secret Talents of the Stars, twice as a special guest (soloist & company appearance) on Fox's hit series "So You Think You Can Dance", and Dancing with The Stars to name a few. Other television and film credits include co-starring in Dean Hargrove's award-winning short film "Tap Heat"; Outkast's feature film "Idlewild"; and Debbie Allen's AMC series "Cool Women". Performances include Sammy (tribute to Sammy Davis jr.); Soul Possessed (leading role); Tony Award winning Broadway show Bring in Da'Noise, Bring in Da'Funk (principal and lead roles); and Imagine Tap! (leading role). Mr. Samuels Smith continues to tour the world with his own tap company A.C.G.I (Anybody Can Get It), India Jazz Suites co-starring with Kathak Master Pandit Chitresh Das, YouthSpeaks, JaJa Productions Band, and Charlie's Angels: A Tribute to Charlie Parker.

As a humanitarian, his work has supported organizations such as Dancers Responding to Aids, Tied to Greatness, Career Transitions for Dancers and Tap Into A Cure, and has helped to develop Tap Dreams, a worldwide documentary/global exchange which auditions young tap dancers in other countries and offers scholarships to attend the most popular tap festivals within the US. He is also one of the only tap dancers to fully design, develop, and promote the Jason Samuels Smith professional tap dance shoe produced and sold exclusively by BLOCH. Mr. Samuels Smith aims to promote respect for the art form and create opportunities for tap dancers, as he continues to provide leadership as a spokesman for tap around the world.

PRESS REVIEWS:

"an all-out sensation...the entertainment is intoxicating..."
- Chicago Tribune

"...rhythmic brilliance..."
- Chicago Sun Times

"Mr. Samuels Smith is broad-chested, virile, bearded, powerful and open... is an easy, enthusiastic communicator... His combination of weight and lightness gives him a striking range, and he has an ear for metric variety. You sense his eagerness to keep moving on, never to be stuck in a rut, to take all the tradition of tap and extend it."
-ALASTAIR MACAULAY, New York Times

Samuels Smith, premier dancer and chief choreographer, stepped onto the company's long, narrow platform of a stage and quickly showed his virtuosity in a dense, fast, explosive style, as if he were determined to fit twice as many steps into a second as anyone ever had.
- David Perkins, The Boston Globe

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