The Tap Factor - Columbia University

"I loved watching how the students lit up when they started to lock into the groove and execute the tap steps they were learning. They all looked around at each other wondering if this was really happening!" 

Founding Artistic Director - Christopher Erk

"Chris joined the Advanced Conflict Resolution class in Fall 2014. There, he was able to showcase to students of the MSc program in negotiation and conflict resolution how to link social capital, arts-based conflict resolution with community building and local peace building by 'tapping' into local resources, individual learning and growth. Through his facilitation, students learned not only about tap dancing but on how rhythm and universally applicable movements can foster dialogue, togetherness and inclusivity - key ingredients of the peace building domain!"

Adjunct Professor in Conflict Resolution, Columbia University - Pascal da Rocha

"I asked the students to respond to the three questions and post their responses on the board - How do you view tap dance in the world today? How do you feel tap dance can be socially impactful? How do you think you will do handle the process of learning how to tap dance and sharing the experience with your peers? At the end of the class, the initial three questions were asked again. Here we found out how they actually fared in the process. We added new posts to the board to reflect our growth and awareness of how tap dance can be impactful in the  world." 

Founding Artistic Director - Christopher Erk  

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