Tamii Sakurai

#TapClipOfTheDay: Nailing a time step in one take is no small feat. Then again, not everyone is Tamii Sakurai. Tamii (@tapiitamii ) is a tap dancer based in New York. She is an Artist in Residence at the @americantapdancefoundation (ATDF). Her close affiliation with ATDF started as a founding member, then the dance captain, and one of the rehearsal director of Tap City Youth Ensemble, a performing youth tap ensemble of ATDF. Tamii has also had the privilege of working with numerous leading tap companies such as Brenda Bufalino’s (@brenda.bufalino ) “New” American Tap Dance Orchestra, Michelle Dorrance’s (@mashdeez ) @dorrancedance and Caleb Teicher’s (@calebteicher ) Caleb Teicher and Company. Tamii studied Mathematics and Dance at Hunter College, where she has developed her style of teaching tap dance incorporating numbers and visuals. In 2016, she has made her debut on Off Broadway on STOMP. After the closure of the New York City production of STOMP in 2023, she has joined the International Tour, and has performed in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Monaco, Switzerland, Japan, Taiwan and more! Her recent solo tap works has been premiered at Rhythm in Motion as part of Tap City, New York City Tap Festival. She enjoys sharing the love for the art form through teaching and participating at local jam sessions. In this evening’s #TuesdayNightTimeStep, Tamii and Alei Russo (@aleirusso ), a Colorado native also based in NYC, made short work of this time step. Oh, and for the record, Tamii and Alei: no, I do not care about the poor video quality. I got the idea. 😊 #WomenOfTap #TamiiSakurai #tapdance Repost from @tapiitamii Happy Tappy Tuesday!!! Exploring a bit of Latin flavor. Thanks @aleirusso for dancing with me 🫶 This was the first and only take. It sounded so together that we celebrated and agreed that we didn’t need another take. Yay! (The camera quality could’ve been better but…. do you care?)

Happy Tappy Tuesday!!! Exploring a bit of Latin flavor. Thanks @aleirusso for dancing with me 🫶 This was the first and only take. It sounded so together that we celebrated and agreed that we didn’t need another take. Yay! (The camera quality could’ve been better but…. do you care?) #timesteptuesday #tapdance #dance #danceclass #intermediate @stepsonbroadway

#TuesdayNightTimeStep: Man, how long has it been since I’ve shared a time step here on a Tuesday night? Anyway… We all knew Tamii Sakurai (@tapiitamii ) of NYC could tap dance like nobody’s business. But did you know that she is also very talented at knitting? 🧶 Yes, the point of this post is the tap dancing. That’s an immaculate time step. But what’s also very cool is the sweater that Tamii is wearing. She knitted it herself! It looks very cozy, and as a guy who likes sweaters and sweater weather, I can definitely dig it. 😍🩷 Follow Tamii’s knitting page at @knitiitamii for some of her other knitting projects! 💜 Repost from @tapiitamii Happy Tuesday! #timesteptuesday just to show off my hand knit sweater @knitiitamii #tapdance #aaba #dance

Happy Tuesday! #timesteptuesday just to show off my hand knit sweater @knitiitamii #tapdance #aaba #dance

Had so much fun learning some Tap choreo to Jingle bell rock🌲🌲 with @tapiitamii @stepsonbroadway yesterday‼️‼️ I think I still got it🥵 #xmas #steps #ny #newyork #broadway

Here is another #timesteptuesday on a Friday😁 Slurrrrrping off that Turkey 🦃🦃🦃 #tapdance #dance #threeandabreak #classcombo

New phone new camera new timestep with a splash of claps #tapdance #timesteptuesday #dance #classcombo #threeandabreak #justoneside

#timesteptuesday I’ve been working on my crawls. I decided to stay in NY for the summer, teaching and subbing and all of the above!!! Come dance with meeeeee #tapdance #threeandabreak #dance #rhythm #nyc

Happy 4th of July! The word “Independence Day” means a little more to me than history. Although the social and political climate in this country is rather challenging, I’d like to celebrate this day as an American. 20 years ago, I have moved from Tokyo to New York City. I did not speak much English, nor did I have great social skills. I remember walking up and down on Lexington Avenue with a flip phone and pocket change, trying to find my way to Broadway Dance Center, where I could hang out with the international students from Japan. A lot has happened since then. I have become a tap dancer, teacher, performer, fiber artist, and sometimes cater waiter. I have a home with people I can call family. I sometimes go months without speaking a single word in Japanese. Even though I was not born and raised here, I certainly grew up in this city. Today, I am reflecting back on all the choices I made, people I met, things I learned the hard way in the last 20 years. It was coincidence that my journey to become an independent person started on the American Independence Day, but I take full advantage of the national holiday to feel like every firework is a pat on my shoulder for the bold decision that I still stand by.

Happy (Inter)national Tap Dance Day❤️❤️❤️ 🎥 @holly_nicole_roberts @stepsonbroadway #tapdance #namethattune #nationaltapdanceday #bojangles

Save the date: Sunday, April 27th at 3pm and 7pm It’s been an honor and privilege to work with this legend Brenda Bufalino! She challenges my idea of rhythm and music and manages to bring them all together like no one else. I am very excited to perform this Works and Process as part of the Uptown Rhythm and Dance Festival 🤩 Please go to the Guggenheim museum website to purchase your tickets! #tapdance #performance #legend #trio #jazz #mingus #worksandprocess #92ny

Bombershays!!!! #timesteptuesday #threeandabreak #tapdance #bombershay