# Aaron Tolson > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Aaron_Tolson > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Aaron_Tolson.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Tolson > Source revision: 1327990965 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Aaron Tolson** (born [Manchester, New Hampshire](/source/Manchester,_New_Hampshire)[when?], United States) has been a [tap dancer](/source/Tap_dance) since 1986. He was the assistant [choreographer](/source/Choreographer), co-creator and assistant producer of *[Imagine Tap](/source/Imagine_Tap)!* - a tap show created with [Derick Grant](/source/Derick_Grant).[1] He is currently an associate professor of dance at [The Boston Conservatory](/source/The_Boston_Conservatory) in [Boston, Massachusetts](/source/Boston,_Massachusetts)[2] and is the founder, choreographer, and director for the pre-professional tap company Speaking in Taps.[3] ## Education and Track Career At age 14, Tolson joined the track team at [Manchester Memorial High School](/source/Manchester_Memorial_High_School). Throughout his four-year high school career, he set every high school record in the event he competed in, including the 55 and 300-meter indoor dashes and the 100 and 200-meter outdoor events. Tolson's times qualified him to compete in the 1992 [U.S. Olympic Trials](/source/United_States_Olympic_Trials_(track_and_field)) and earned him induction into the Memorial High School and Manchester, NH Halls of Fame. Graduating high school, he earned a full scholarship to St. Johns University, where he once again set records in track. A number of them still stand to this day. In 1996, he was once again invited to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials.[4] Tolson graduated from St. Johns University in 1997 with a [Bachelor of Science](/source/Bachelor_of_Science) degree in communications.[5] ## Tap Dance Career Aaron Tolson started dancing at the age of ten in [Lawrence, Massachusetts](/source/Lawrence,_Massachusetts).[6] Four years into his dance career he was performing in the *Great Tap Reunion* at the [Apollo Theater](/source/Apollo_Theater) alongside tap legends Derick Grant, [Savion Glover](/source/Savion_Glover), [Gregory Hines](/source/Gregory_Hines), and the cast of the movie *[Tap](/source/Tap_(film))*. Soon after, Tolson met Julia Boynton in [Boston](/source/Boston,_Massachusetts),[7] who guided him in the direction of tap as a lifestyle. While attending college at St. Johns University, Tolson was honing his tap technique in [Manhattan](/source/Manhattan). His senior year of college led him to the [New York Shakespeare Festival](/source/New_York_Shakespeare_Festival) tap program, also known as *Funk U!* Soon Tolson became a company member of Manhattan Tap. Jumping feet-first into choreography, he landed a job with Absolut in a national tour called *Absolut Tap!* He choreographed a piece for their second tour and was a dance captain for all of the teams for two years. Soon after, Tolson accepted a role in the national and international tours of *[Riverdance](/source/Riverdance)*. He was a soloist and the captain of the tap dancers during his six-year run with the show and had the opportunities to perform on [Broadway](/source/Broadway_theatre), at [Radio City Music Hall](/source/Radio_City_Music_Hall), on various TV shows, at [NBA](/source/National_Basketball_Association) games, and on stages all over the world. ### *Imagine Tap!* In 2006, Tolson began working with longtime friend [Derick K. Grant](/source/Derick_K._Grant) on *[Imagine Tap!](/source/Imagine_Tap)*, a [Chicago](/source/Chicago)-based show whose formation would eventually become the subject of a feature-length documentary, titled *Tap or Die*. Tolson performed in the show alongside Grant and fellow tap dancers [Jason Samuels Smith](/source/Jason_Samuels_Smith), [Michelle Dorrance](/source/Michelle_Dorrance), [Chloe Arnold](/source/Chloe_Arnold), [Dormeshia Sumbrey-Edwards](/source/Dormeshia_Sumbry-Edwards), [Ayodele Casel](/source/Ayodele_Casel), Joseph Wiggin, Jason Janas, Jared Grimes, Jumaane Taylor, Tre Dumas, Brill Barrett, and more.[8] ## Teaching the Next Generation ### New England Tap Ensemble Aaron founded New England Tap Ensemble, a non-profit organization, in May 2007. His goal was to promote the art of tap dance in the community while fostering a sense of individuality in a professional artist. While he was a faculty member at The Boston Conservatory and [Plymouth State University](/source/Plymouth_State_University), he choreographed, produced, and directed *Something to Tap About*, *Tapped*, *Tapped In*, and *Inspired*, which all featured performers from New England Tap Ensemble. The youth organization resolved in 2010. ### Speaking in Taps Following the conclusion of the New England Tap Ensemble, Tolson founded Speaking in Taps in 2010. Speaking in Taps, which is commonly abbreviated as "SIT," is a pre-professional youth tap company. Members range in age from 10 to 20-years old and hail from all over New England. In January 2021, the company put on their first show since the pandemic, *Something to Tap About*. It was the first show the company has put on that only features choreographed dances by Tolson and improv solos by multiple members. Because of the [COVID-19 pandemic](/source/COVID-19_pandemic) in 2020, the company expanded their platform and added "remote members" which call into rehearsals via [Zoom](/source/Zoom_(software)). ## Personal life In 2017, Tolson resumed to his teaching position at The Boston Conservatory as an associate professor of dance. He currently resides in [Bedford, NH](/source/Bedford,_New_Hampshire) with his wife and two daughters. In correspondence with Bedford Community Television, Tolson created his own show, *The Aaron Tolson Entertainment and Variety Show*, in September 2017.[9] It ran for a total of five episodes, airing the final one in late August 2018. ## Notes 1. Hildebrand, Karen (July 2006). "THE HOOFIN' IS COOKIN'". *Dance Magazine*. **80** (7): 19–20. [ISSN 0011-6009](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0011-6009) 1. ["Aaron Tolson | Berklee"](https://bostonconservatory.berklee.edu/directory/aaron-tolson). *bostonconservatory.berklee.edu*. Retrieved 2021-03-07. 1. Taps, Speaking In. ["Speaking In Taps"](https://speakingintaps.com/). *Speaking In Taps*. Retrieved 2021-03-07. 1. Tolson, Aaron. ["The Tap-Dancing Jedi"](https://aarontolson.com/bio). *Aaron Tolson*. Retrieved 2021-03-07. 1. ["Aaron A. Tolson '97SVC"](https://www.stjohns.edu/about/news/success-stories/aaron-tolson-97svc). *www.stjohns.edu*. Retrieved 2021-03-07. 1. WEEKES, JULIA ANN (2006-11-23). ["Manchester dancer parlays talent for tap into a career"](http://www.newhampshire.com/article.aspx?articleid=275). newhampshire.com. Retrieved 2008-05-26. 1. Bale, Theodore (2002-06-06). "Dance Review; 'Riverdance' stays in step at the Wang". [Boston Herald](/source/Boston_Herald) 1. ["Imagine Tap! Cast Biographies"](http://www.imaginetap.com/cast.htm). 2006-06-14. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20060614215528/http://www.imaginetap.com/cast.htm) 2006-06-14 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-03-07. 1. ["The Aaron Tolson Entertainment & Variety Show"](https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/TV-Show/The-Aaron-Tolson-Entertainment-Variety-Show-280649285754885/). *www.facebook.com*. Retrieved 2021-03-07. ## External links - [Aaron Tolson](http://www.aarontolson.com/) personal website - [Speaking in Taps](https://speakingintaps.com/) company website --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Aaron Tolson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Tolson) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Tolson?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.