Max Pollak
Max Pollak, a 2008 fellow in Choreography from the New York Foundation of the Arts, is one of the most prestigious names on the international tap scene today. He is recognized worldwide for his highly individual style as the first person to merge authentic Afro-Cuban music and dance with American rhythm tap and body music to create RumbaTap.
Originator of Cuba’s first tap festival (Arts International Grant 2001), he has been teaching and performing there since 1998, and has worked with Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Cuba’s top-ranked Rumba group, Chucho Valdés, Lila Downs and jazz legends Ray Brown, Phil Woods, Paquito D’Rivera, Slide Hampton and Danilo Perez. On faculty at Sarah Lawrence College, he travels the world with his company and is about to release his first music CD: RumbaTap.