The people behind Footprints

Founder and director

Thomas Marek

Performer, choreographer, teacher: for more than 30 years, Thomas Marek has been bringing together traditional and modern tap dance with contemporary music and theater.

The masters he studied with, and who shaped him, were innovators of the form themselves: Honi Coles, Cholly Atkins, Chuck Green, Buster Brown, Lon Chaney, Jimmy Slyde, and above all Brenda Bufalino, with whose American Tap Dance Orchestra he toured Florida in the mid-1990s.

Deeply rooted in jazz, Marek explores sound, phrasing, and touch, pushes at the edges of what tap can be, and finds new forms of expression that stay connected to the roots of the art form while telling new stories.

As a teacher, his goal is the same: to develop musicality and a personal voice on the foundation of solid technique. He is a regular guest teacher and soloist at festivals and on stages across Germany, Europe, and the United States, and has shared the stage with tap greats including Brenda Bufalino, Barbara Duffy, Sarah Petronio, Jimmy Slyde, and Gregory Hines.

thomasmarek.com

Tap I–III, Beginners

Cordula Decker

Cordula Decker studied theater design at Central Saint Martins in London while training in jazz, tap, and ballet at Pineapple Studios. She went on to train as a stage performer at Stage School Hamburg, graduating in 2001.

As an actress, singer, and dancer she has performed at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg, the St. Pauli Theater, and the Hamburg University of Music and Theater, among others. In 2003 she completed a dance education certificate at the Iwanson School in Munich and has been teaching in Hamburg ever since, with a focus on tap and jazz dance.

She has been part of Thomas Marek’s professional class since 2006 and trains regularly with international tap artists such as Brenda Bufalino, Josh Hilberman, Barbara Duffy, Lisa La Touche, and Michelle Dorrance. Her stage credits include “Footprints on stage” (Kampnagel), “Blue Tap open stage” (Berlin), and the Volksbühne gala at Theater Kiel. In 2018 and 2019 she was the tap soloist in Duke Ellington’s “Sacred Concert” with the Jazzigs big band, and in 2017 and 2019 she produced her own show, “Tap im Park,” at the Schanzenzelt in Hamburg.

Cordula has taught at Studio Footprints since 2009.

corduladecker.jimdo.com

Beginners, Tap I–II, Music & Improvisation

Berit Thomsen

Berit Thomsen took her first tap steps with Thomas Marek and never stopped. She has kept growing through workshops with international tap artists including Brenda Bufalino, Sam Weber, Barbara Duffy, Sarah Petronio, Heather Cornell, Michelle Dorrance, and Nicholas Young, and sharpened her skills in Thomas Marek’s Professional Tap Training in 2016 and 2017, focusing on technique, artistic expression, and teaching.

Her passion for improvising with jazz musicians led her to intensive courses with professionals such as Stefan Dahm (drums), Thomas Altmann (drums, percussion), Oliver Karstens (bass), and Lorenz Boesche (piano).

In 2016 she co-founded the Tap Jam Hamburg with Thomas Marek, a regular meeting place for jazz musicians and tap dancers. She performs with various ensembles, including at “Footprints on Stage” at Kampnagel and “Tap im Park” at the Schanzenzelt.

Tap II, Improvisation

Luke Dowling

Luke Dowling graduated from Italia Conti in London in 2013 with a diploma in performing arts. Since then he has performed in musicals across the UK and Germany, including “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Footloose,” “Eugenius,” “Starlight Express,” and “The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein.”

Tap has always been at the heart of Luke’s career. He trained for many years with Tap Attack and competed regularly at the IDO Tap World Championships, where his own choreography placed fifth in the men’s solo category.

He has been teaching for ten years, including at Pineapple, Dance Attic, and Italia Conti in London. After moving to Germany he taught for three years at Tap Beat in Berlin. Luke is thrilled to be in Hamburg and to share what he knows with the Footprints community.