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1 l" <br /> NCYTE's artistic director, Gene Medler <br /> Gene Medler is founder and director of the North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble 1 <br /> (NCYTE) and director of the North Carolina Rhythm Tap Festival. He teaches in j <br /> 1 the Department of Performing Arts at Elon University. Mr. Medler's previous j <br /> teaching credits include Duke University and Meredith College. He is on the <br /> faculty at The Ballet School of Chapel Hill and has taught master classes at the j <br /> tap festivals in the U.S. and worldwide. j <br /> Gene was an athlete for most of his life, playing baseball, basketball, and track in j <br /> middle and high school and then fencing at the University of North Carolina. 1 <br /> Between undergraduate and graduate school he got interested in acting which j <br /> led to dance classes and ultimately tap dance class. Loving movement for its j <br /> own sake and having always wanted to learn to play an instrument, tap dancing j <br /> was the perfect art form for him. He was fortunate to be learning when many of j <br /> the old masters were starting to teach again. Gene worked with masters like 1 <br /> Clayton "Peg Leg" Bates, Charles "Honi" Coles, Cholly Atkins, Bunny Briggs, and j <br /> contemporaries like Brenda Bufalino, Sam Weber and Savion Glover. His passion j <br /> for tap dancing coupled with his desire to teach led to the creation of NCYTE. <br /> A* Selected career highlights include: 1 <br /> Appearance in Duke Ellington's Nutcracker at j <br /> Page Auditorium, Duke University & Memorial j <br /> Hall, UNC j <br /> Appearance in Ellington's David Danced, j <br /> Duke Chapel 1 <br /> "Poor Butterfly" soft shoe choreo-graphed by j <br /> Brenda Buffalino at Colorado Dance Festival j <br /> • Appearance in Great Tap Reunion (Boston), j <br /> Charles `Honi" Cole choreography j <br /> 1 Appearance with the Squirrel Nut Zippers 1 <br /> Appearance with Brenda Bufalino, World j <br /> Dance Festival New York City j <br /> Grants from the Durham Arts Council, the <br /> S North Carolina Arts Council and the Orange j <br /> County Arts Commission j <br /> • Featured in Dance Teacher Now magazine j <br /> Featured in Southern Living magazine <br /> • Received the 1998 Indy Award for contribution to the arts from 1 <br /> Independent Magazine j <br /> • Profiled in the September/October 2001 Carolina Alumni Review j <br /> 14* • Named Tar Heel of the Week by the News and Observer j <br /> 4* • Seen nationwide in PBS special, Juba! Masters of Tap and Percussive Dance <br /> � l <br /> North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble - Guide for teachers 5 j <br />