M.A.D.D. Rhythms Announces Four New Company Members

M.A.D.D. Rhythms, Chicago's premier tap collective, proudly announces four new company members joining the Company which recently announced its 20th Anniversary Season. The M.A.D.D. Rhythms Company welcomes Ivy Anderson, Izaiah Montaque Harris, Caleb Jackson and Molly Sute. In addition to featuring these new company members, the 20th anniversary season is a yearlong celebration including video premieres, special events coinciding with a new documentary and M.A.D.D Rhythms publishing debut, social media happenings, classes and the Chicago Tap Summit. More information on all current company members and the 20th Anniversary season may be found at MADDRhythms.com.

"These new members give all of us another reason to celebrate our 20th Anniversary Season. We welcome Ivy, Izaiah, Caleb and Molly to the company," said Bril Barrett, founder of M.A.D.D. Rhythms. "Each of these young people has been dancing for almost their entire lives and we look forward to seeing them grow, learn, teach and perform as members of M.A.D.D. Rhythms."

Meet the new M.A.D.D. Rhythms' 20th Anniversary Season Company Members:

ABOUT IVY ANDERSON

Ivy Anderson was born and raised in Muncie, Indiana. She began dancing at the age of three and has been in love with the art form ever since. Anderson began her career in the world of competitive dance, training in all styles, earning many scholarships and awards along the way. Anderson's first performed professionally in the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's Yuletide Celebration joining the cast at the age of 14 and returning to the show every year afterward until her completion of high school. At the age of 17, Anderson began to focus on her favorite style of dance: tap. She performed at D.C. Tap Fest, Rhythm World's Juba Celebration, and in Feeling Good: A M.A.D.D. Rhythms Tribute to Nina Simone. She earned scholarships to Rhythm World, Hoofin' Grounds and the UK Tap Festival. She currently tap dances professionally with the companies 333 and now M.A.D.D. Rhythms, as a company member.

ABOUT IZAIAH MONTAQUE HARRIS

Izaiah Montaque Harris is a tap dancer, jazz singer and musical theater performer who has been passionately entertaining on stage for as long as he can remember. He started tap dancing at the age of 5 at Studio One Dance Theater where he performed a total of 15 consecutive dance recitals with the company. After he turned 18, he began teaching tap at the same location where he first began. He has attended Chicago High School for the Arts with a Musical Theater focus and has worked with businesses such as After School Matters Gallery 37, Congo Square, Merit School of Music, DWMP and FloFIYAH LLC. He now has four years of Columbia College of Chicago under his belt, with a focus towards a BA in Contemporary, Urban and Popular Music. Even though he does indulge in many forms of creativity such as jazz singing, musicals and sketching, his first and favorite form is the art of tap dancing. In his latest news, he has just completed an 8-month contract performing the role of "Tap Mathematician" in the Broadway hit musical, After Midnight on the Norwegian Cruise Line's record-breaking vessel, "Escape."

ABOUT CALEB JACKSON

Caleb Jackson is a 17-year-old tap dancer, who was born and raised in Chicago. He started off dancing at a young age with his mom, who taught him styles such as hip-hop and ballet. He first started tap dancing at the age of 10, taking classes at M.A.D.D. Rhythms Tap Academy. From there he joined M.A.D.D. Rhythms After School Matters program, where he participated in learning and teaching tap dance with other teens, as well as performing around the city of Chicago. At age 14, Jackson began apprenticing for M.A.D.D. Rhythms where he now dances as a company member. This includes dancing in numerous shows and projects with the company and participating in tap festivals around the country, including the DC Tap Fest, Chicago Tap Summit, Cleveland Tap Experience and others.

ABOUT MOLLY SUTE

Molly Sute is a Detroit native with training from the M.A.D.D. Rhythms Tap Academy, Detroit Tap Repertory and various tap festivals since they were 13. As a well-rounded dancer, Sute also studied modern and contemporary ballet at Wayne State University, where they were selected to serve as a student choreographer and were presented a Copperfoot Award for Outstanding Contribution to Repertoire. Upon graduating with a dual degree in Dance and Public Relations in May 2019, they began splitting their time between Detroit and Chicago. When Sute isn't working as the digital and social media coordinator at Detroit's Music Hall Center for Performing Arts, they perform as a Music Hall resident artist and direct the competitive tap program at The Dance Academy in Westland, MI. They choreograph commissioned works across the Detroit area, with notable individual performances including Detroit Music Weekend, Detroit Jazz Festival, Detroit Pride and the Detroit Pistons Drumline. They hope to bring the grit of Chicago's tap scene back to their Detroit community, eventually merging the two together.

ABOUT M.A.D.D. RHYTHMS

M.A.D.D. (Making A Difference Dancing) RHYTHMS is a phenomenal tap dance collective whose "SOLE" purpose is to spread the love and joy of tap worldwide. What started as Bril Barrett and Martin Dumas III's formula for giving back, is now, in its 20th year, a full-fledged 501 (c) 3 performing arts company, quickly gaining a reputation for representing the true essence of tap: RHYTHM! The company is composed of young, versatile tap dancers from all over Chicago. Their ages range from 17 to 45 years old, and their backgrounds are equally diverse. The one thing they all have in common is a love for "the dance."

M.A.D.D. Rhythms' mission is to preserve, promote and contribute to this art form called tap. They teach its history, represent its culture and advocate for its future. M.A.D.D. Rhythms uses this beautiful dance/music form to make a difference in the under-served communities of this world by connecting and caring for the youth of this world. Believing that having access and options gives a child a greater chance at a positive life, M.A.D.D. Rhythms spreads the joy, love, discipline and expression of tap to as many children as we humanly can!

M.A.D.D. RHYTHMS' performance opportunities, in short, have included: Dance Africa Chicago, Dance Chicago, The Stars of "Dance Chicago" in Istanbul, Turkey, M.A.D.D. Rhythms Canada's "Release Yourself" and "Great Feets of Rhythm," Downbeats Canada's "Embrace the Rhythm," Miami's Art-Deco Festival, An Expo for Today's Black Woman, Kwanzaa Festival, The African Festival of the Arts, St. Louis Tap Festival, Boys and Girls Clubs National Conference, the Chicago Historical Society's Summer Performance Series, and DuSable Museum's educational theatre series. They have also produced nine full-length productions, created the annual Chicago Tap Summit and educated more than 200 students via The M.A.D.D. Rhythms Tap Academy.

In an effort to continuously give back to their communities, they have also worked with many public and private schools and volunteered performances for various community affiliated organizations including A.C.E.S. (Athletes Committed to Educating Students), Children Affected by AIDS Foundation, Nikola Tesla Alternative High School for Girls, TCA Health and Nutrition Fair, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. and Rainbow House.

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