Flashes of footwork and a flurry of sound filled the Debbie Allen Dance Academy as tap dancers gathered for their weekly improvisational jam session. Dancing on and in between the beat, dancers spoke ...

I was in the front row, center stage, in my purple-and-black tap shoes, hands on hips and smiling. All eyes were on us, my tap dance group, nine of us wearing the same glittery tank top and black ...