Who We Are

Yvonne Edwards

Co-Founder, Knock On Wood Tap Studio

A native Washingtonian, Yvonne Edwards is Washington's celebrated "Tap Lady." She has been dancing, teaching, and choreographing for over 60 years. Ms. Yvonne, the co-founder of Knock On Wood Tap Studio, has taught master classes at the International Conference of Black Dance in Atlanta, the Chicago Human Rhythm Project, the New York City Tap Festival, and throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Her choreography is included in the repertoire of Capitol Tap and before that she choreographed pieces for Tappers With Attitude (the original tap performing ensemble at Knock on Wood Tap Studio – that group is now inactive).

A longtime participant in Washington Performing Arts Society's Artists in Schools program, in 1993, she was the recipient of the "Contribution to Dance in the District" award presented by the DC Ensemble, DC Arts and Humanities, and DC Art Works. She has been honored by the International Association of Blacks in Dance, and was named "Tap Teacher of the Year" by the American Tap Dance Foundation. In September 2006, she received the Metro DC Dance Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Dance Education." In December 2006, she received the "Excellence in the Arts and Humanities Award for Education" at the Executives' Ball of Montgomery County, MD. In September 2007, Ms. Edwards received the WPAS Pola Nirenska Award for Lifetime Achievement at the Metro DC Dance Awards.

Gigi Buscaglio

Gigi Buscaglio, a native Washingtonian, has performed as a featured singer/dancer at such prominent venues as The Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap Farm Park, Blues Alley Night Club, The Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum, and many other private events in the DC area. She has toured nationally, in repertoire, with The National Players acting company, appearing in Richard III, The Miser, and the musical The Boys from Syracuse. Internationally, Gigi was a featured performer in a USO show, performing a rock-and-roll review for U.S. troops in Germany and Italy.

Gigi has also taught music, dance, and theatre and directed and choreographed for over 25 years at some of the most prestigious Washington area studios and schools, including: Feet First Dance Studio, The Wheaton Studio of Dance, Peters Studio of Dance, DC Dance Collective, The Woods Academy, Imagination Stage, Walter Johnson High School, Churchill High School, Georgetown Visitation High School, and Holton-Arms Academy.

Currently, Gigi also teaches music and creative movement for infants to 5-year olds at The Goddard School in Urbana, Maryland. She also teaches a parent and child class at Knock On Wood Tap Studio and leads many young children-related special events. Her 25-year association with Knock On Wood and the love for and from Ms. Yvonne, Miss Mary Lou Peters, and the tap community are the most cherished gems of Miss Gigi’s life. Tap dancing is her most favorite thing to do in the world.

Victoria Dillon

Victoria Dillon has been dancing since the age of 3, which is probably the first time she saw the Rockettes in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from her home in Buffalo, NY. Trained in tap, jazz, ballet and contemporary, she performed across Western New York before attending Syracuse University. There, she joined many dance companies and became an early member of Orange Pulse, a company just as committed to dance as to philanthropy.

Her career brought her to Washington where she served as a spokesman for leaders on Capitol Hill and in the Obama Administration. Despite her day job, dance was in her blood.

In 2015, she dusted off her tap shoes and joined the Artistic Rhythms Alliance. She has performed at the NCAA Kickoff Classic halftime show at the Meadowlands, is a regular performer at A Holiday SpecTAPular, a holiday tap show bringing together more than 100 local dancers, and has appeared in countless performances around the DC-Maryland-Virginia area, including with Savion Glover.

Victoria has shared her love of dance teaching for 4 years at Sitar Arts Center, a non-profit arts center dedicated to bringing the arts to students of all backgrounds and reaching 800 students each year, 80% of whom come from low-income households. She believes strongly in the power of the arts as a way to bring people together and to teach respect, control, joy – and if you’re a tapper, how to listen!

Becky Hill

Becky Hill is an accomplished and sought after percussive dancer, Appalachian square dance caller, and choreographer. Becky has worked with Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble, Rhythm in Shoes, Good Foot Dance Company and studied with an array of percussive dance luminaries.

In 2013, she was involved in Wheatland Music Organization’s Carry It On... Project under the directorship of Sharon Leahy, where she was commissioned to choreograph two dance pieces in honor of the festival’s 40th anniversary. In 2014, she was awarded a West Virginia Division of Culture and History Professional Development Grant to further her study of percussive dance and conducted her 200 Hour Hatha Yoga Teacher Training at Rishikesh Yog Peeth in India. She served as Artist in Residence at Davis & Elkins College from September 2013 - December 2015, where she coordinated The Mountain Dance Trail of Augusta Heritage Center and co-directed the Appalachian Ensemble. Together with noted folklorist Gerry Milnes, she produced a documentary film on West Virginia dance traditions, "Reel ‘Em Boys, Reel ‘Em," and currently serves part-time as the events coordinator for Augusta Heritage Center. Becky organized Dare to be Square West Virginia in 2013, 2014, 2015 & 2017 and Helvetia Hoot in 2019.

In January 2016, Becky was awarded an additional West Virginia Division of Culture and History Professional Development Grant to study with Sandy Silva in Montreal, Quebec, and Yiota Peklari in Athens, Greece, in order to deepen her understanding of performing, creating and improvising within percussive dance. Becky served as the Interim Movement Teacher at Linden Waldorf School in Nashville, Tennessee 2017-2018 school year. She performs regularly with the T-Mart Rounders alongside Jesse Milnes and Kevin Chesser. In 2017, she directed and danced in her first full-length music and dance work inspired by Appalachian traditions, Shift and in fall 2018 she was selected as a fellow for OneBeat, a U.S. State Department Cultural Diplomacy Program.

Becky has performed at Jacob's Pillow, Newport Folk Festival, Mountain Stage Radio Show, Wheatland Music Festival, Big Ears, Nelsonville Music Festival and many others. As an avid organizer and teacher, Becky's work is deeply rooted in the connections between music and community.

Trevor Kunz

Trevor Kunz is a tap dance instructor with over 15 years of dance experience. Trevor began his tap dance career at the age of 10, as a member of the youth tap ensemble, Tappers With Attitude, and performed with Capitol Tap and House of Tap. In 2019, he graduated with a minor in dance from Bucknell University. In the DC metropolitan area, he has taught for Commotion Dance Studio and Unity Dance & Movement. Trevor seeks to provide students with inspiring and engaging learning experiences.

Katharine Manor

Raised in the Rockville, MD/DC Metro area, Katharine has been studying tap dance since the age of 4 under the watchful eye of DC’s Tap Lady, Miss Yvonne Edwards. With an emphasis on musicality, cleanliness/clarity of sound, and improvisation over ‘”flash” and acrobatics, Katharine studied for 18 years with some of the most accomplished and knowledgeable tap dancers in the country. This list includes Baakari Wilder, Lisa Swenton-Eppard (Capitol Tap), Dianne Walker, Jason Samuel Smith, Derrick Grant, Sarah Reich, Chloe and Maud Arnold (The Syncopated Ladies), Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, Michelle Dorrance, Joseph Webb, the late Harold Cromer and others.

Katharine was a member of Knock On Wood Tap Studio’s Tappers With Attitude (TWA) and is currently a member of Capitol Tap. She has participated in many tap festivals and cutting contests over the last decade including the annual DC Tap Festival, Syncopated Ladies Boot Camp and the New Jersey Tap Festival, where she won 1st place in 2014 and received a scholarship to the Los Angeles Tap Festival.

As an African-American dancer and scholar, Katharine’s work often focuses on matters of social justice, equality and historical accuracy, and shows her love for tradition.

Katharine performed in the 2016 American Dance Festival College Association SE Conference, the 2016 Black Theatre Network Conference and now tours with Davis & Elkins alumna, singer-songwriter Kaia Kater, who was featured in The Rolling Stones’ “top ten upcoming artists” 2016 review. She also presented at the APAP conference in New York City.

Katharine Manor has BA in American Vernacular Dance from Davis & Elkins College, where she studied with professors Laurie Goux, Becky Hill, and Emily Oleson.

Madison Smither

Born and raised in New Orleans, LA, Madison discovered her passion for tap at an early age. She attended the prestigious New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) and was a member of Gulf Coast Theatre on Tap, New Orleans's premier tap dance company with a mission to celebrate, promote, and preserve America’s indigenous dance form in the birthplace of jazz. Under the direction and mentorship of Emmy Award-winning Heidi Malnar (Jump Rhythm Jazz Project and Chicago Tap Theatre), Madison worked her way from youngest apprentice to longtime company member of Theatre on Tap, bringing rhythm tap across Louisiana.

Having graduated from the University of Virginia, Madison is based in the DC area while also pursuing a graduate degree at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government as a JFK Fellow and a member of Harvard’s Climate Leaders Program. She works at the intersection of environmental justice and environmental economics, with recent experience at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and as a co-organizer of Harvard's inaugural Climate Leadership Summit.

Teaching tap has been a crucial part of her journey since the age of 16, building on training from her mentors Heidi Malnar and Elizabeth Pulsinelli, as well as from the wonderful Thelma Goldberg. She is always adding to her toolkit, having had the opportunity to learn from other masters like Dianne Walker, Sam Weber, and Acia Gray. Loving the intersection of the rich policy and artistic worlds in the DC area, Madison teaches at Perfect Pointe Dance Studio and is beyond thrilled to tap and teach with the inspiring community at Knock on Wood!

Lisa Swenton-Eppard

Director of Programming, Knock On Wood; Founder/Artistic Director, Capitol Tap & District Tap

Raised in her mother's dance studio, Lisa Swenton-Eppard has spent all of her life learning dance. In addition to founding and directing Capitol Tap, Lisa is currently Director of Programming at Knock On Wood Tap Studio and adjunct professor at Bowie State University. She was featured in Dance Teacher Magazine in May 2015, selected as the "Teacher in the Spotlight" for Dance Studio Life Magazine in March/April 2013, and a recipient of two Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County grants. With 30 years teaching experience, Lisa is always looking to further her own tap education through classes, festivals, and intensives. Raised in the competition circuit, she went on to become a judge at dance competitions, and served on the committee as well as choreographed for a local Miss America pageant. Lisa's most recent positions include DC TapFest faculty for 2013, 2014, and 2015, assistant director of Tappers With Attitude Youth Ensemble from 2002-2010, Chloe and Maud Productions' Summer Tap Boot Camp faculty in 2010, Black Rock Center for the Arts faculty from 2002-2009, Step Aside Tap Company member from 2001-2006, and a selection committee member for the Metro DC Dance Awards for many years. Lisa holds a B.S. in Psychology from Frostburg State University.

Ana Tomioshi

Ana is a Brazilian performing artist, choreographer and educator, currently living in Washington, DC. With an extensive multi-style background in tap dance, Irish dance, jazz and Brazilian rhythms, she became one of the most sought out tap dance soloists and instructors in Brazil.

Ana moved to Washington, DC, in 2018, where she dances with SOLE Defined, directed by Ryan and Quynn Johnson, and teaches at the Metropolitan School of the Arts. She is also a member of NYC-based company Music From the Sole, directed by Leonardo Sandoval and Gregory Richardson, performing at venues including the Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, The Yard, and Battery Dance Festival.

Born in Sorocaba, Brazil, Ana began dancing at age 10 and studied dance with mentors Sheila and Helga Santos. As a teenager, she won scholarships from Emmy award winner Jason Samuels Smith and Emmy nominee Chloe Arnold to continue her studies at the LA Tap Festival (Los Angeles/USA) and DC Tap Festival (Washington, DC/USA). In 2014, Ana was also one of 25 tap dancers chosen from around the world to participate in the prestigious Jacob’s Pillow Tap Program, directed by MacArthur Fellow Michelle Dorrance.

Candace Turitto

Candace’s dance life started – like most do – at a very young age, and has covered a wide range of disciplines, including tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, modern, hip-hop and pom. She has been dancing for over 25 years as part of performing troupes, dance teams, and competition teams, and has been a choreographer and instructor for over 10 years.

As a teenager, Candace attended the Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts, where she studied Musical Theater and served as the group’s dance captain. As a member of the group’s select troupe, she traveled to Japan for a performance tour, and participated in dozens of Broadway revues and shows, including Will Roger’s Follies and Chicago. At the collegiate level, Candace was a member of the James Madison University Dukettes, a very competitive and nationally ranked dance team. Over the years, she has studied with several notable choreographers, including Baakari Wilder (Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk, original cast) and Denise Wall (Denise Wall’s Dance Energy), and her own routines have received several awards at both regional and national competitions, for both choreography and high scores. Candace is also a current and founding member of the historic adult performance company District Tap, and is a sought-after instructor across the DC Metro area.

Candace received her Bachelor’s Degree from James Madison University, and has years of political campaigning experience, from campaign management to media consulting. She returned to academia in 2010 to receive a Masters Degree from the University of Maryland, where she is also currently pursuing her Ph.D. in American Politics and Statistics, and is projected to complete her graduate work in 2017.

Stephanie Vadala

Stephanie Vadala is a native of Syracuse, NY where she trained in ballet, tap, jazz, and lyrical starting at the age of 3. She also participated in community theatre in high school and college. She was introduced to modern dance at SUNY Oswego where she received her B.A. in Human Communications. After moving to the DC area in 2007, she jumped into the dance scene, adding hip hop to the styles of dance she trains and performs in.

Over the years, Stephanie has been a member of multiple DC area dance companies of varying styles including Tappenstance, Afta Shock DC, Next Reflex Dance Collective, ARA Tap, and as a guest dancer with Glade Dance Collective. Other performance credits include: dancing for the Utz National Chip Day Celebration, dancing on the National Mall for Earth Day and the 100th Anniversary of the Cherry Blossom Festival, multiple DC Tap Fest All-Star Concerts, and National Tap Dance Day. Her most favorite performances were on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center in a tap dance tribute to Fred Astaire, and dancing in the documentary titled, “James Brown: The Man, The Music, The Message” which aired on NBC. Stephanie is currently a member of District Tap.

Stephanie has taught multiple dance styles all over the DC area, but tap dance is where her heart is. In addition to Knock on Wood, she currently teaches at Perfect Pointe Dance Studio and CityDance. She currently directs Take 2, a youth tap company based in the DC area which she founded in 2020. When she is not dancing or teaching, you’ll see her behind the lens of a camera. She is honored to have attended Jacob’s Pillow in August 2019 for the Art of Photographing Dance intensive to further her skills as a photographer. Her hope is to keep growing as a student and educator of dance and one day spread the love of dance throughout the U.S.

Baakari Wilder

Assistant Artistic Director, Capitol Tap

Baakari Wilder is internationally known for starring in the Broadway musical Bring In Da Noise, Bring In Da Funk. He received a Bessie Award for his performance, and later assumed the lead role for a year. At the age of 12, he opened the show at the Kennedy Center for a star-studded tap review that included the legendary Brenda Bufalino, Sandman Simms, Harold Nicholas, and Savion Glover. He was the first recipient of the Steve Condos Award, created by Lorraine Condos in honor of her late husband. At 16, Baakari became a member of Savion Glover’s tap group, Real Tap Skills, consisting of three other tap dancers from the metropolitan area. Baakari’s dancing has delighted audiences around the world in places such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, France, Africa, Brazil, Germany, and Japan. He appeared in Spike Lee's “Bamboozled,” the Discovery Channel’s “Time Warp,” and as a guest performer on FOX channel’s “So You Think You Can Dance.” Baakari has a Bachelors of Arts degree in theater from the University of Maryland at College Park. He is the Assistant Artistic Director of the Washington, DC based company, Capitol Tap. Baakari was recently granted the 2014 Pola Nirenska Award for Achievement in Dance.

Darren Wilson

The incomparable tap legend Gregory Hines said it best: “I'm going to tap until I can't. I'll be so old, all I can do is walk out from the wings to stage center. But I'll be there.” Darren’s lifelong love of tap dance was cultivated by his mother Kathy Banks, who was a member of Knock On Wood’s former adult company Step Aside. A native Washingtonian, he took his first class at KOW at the age of 12 under the guidance of former Tappers ith Attitude member LeeAnet Noble. Fast forward two years later and he had the honor and pleasure of working with the illustrious directors Ms. Yvonne, Ms. Renee, and Ms. Vicki as dance captain in Tappers With Attitude Youth Tap Ensemble. Dancing with the company throughout middle school and high school was one of the greatest joys of his life.

After high school he began teaching tap at the Synergy Dance Academy in Okemos, Michigan while earning a degree in journalism from Michigan State University. Darren was instantly bitten by the teaching bug. He is now entering his 15th year of teaching secondary education. He has worked across grades 6-12. He can be found at Montgomery Blair High School where he teaches Advanced Placement Language and Composition. Darren never forgot his love of tap dance, even as he earned his Master’s degree in Minority and Urban Education from the University of Maryland. In addition to being elated at the chance of coming home to KOW, Darren also teaches adult and teen tap at The Wheaton Studio of Dance and the Shannon Rush School of Dance in Olney. As a dance instructor, Darren has a passion for strong technique, clear and unique sound combinations, and tap history. He believes that tap dance can be featured with any genre of music. He has become known for his unique music choices with an emphasis on hip-hop and Latin American music forms as a backdrop for the rhythms and sounds that will fill our iconic tap studio. Darren hopes to see you on the wood!

Margaret Wohlford

Margaret holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance Choreography and Performance from Brigham Young University-Idaho. Though she grew up dancing in Northen California, her collegiate experiences shaped her artistic voice and refined her technical growth. During her undergrad studies, she was an active member of her university's touring and collegiate companies as a performer, choreographer, and director. She also participated in artistic projects with fellow creatives for video and live performances, including Vaishali Sagar and SALT Contemporary Dance, and is currently going into her second season with District Tap.

Margaret's teaching experience consists of variety. While earning her degree, she taught and facilitated technical courses in modern, tap, clogging, world dance, and improvisational and choreographic studies, as well as dance history, philosophy, and yoga. She has taught students of all ages, ranging from 6 months old to 60 years old! Her passion for teaching can be seen in her prioritization of developing student's understanding of technique and providing opportunities for creative play.