Dancers set for ‘Two on Tap’

1. Watch the two perform

Tap, tap, tapping across the stage, dancers Melissa Giattino and Ron DeStefano perform across the country and on the high seas with their “Two on Tap” show.

The duo will bring that show to the Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center on April 15.

Two On Tap, their website details, marks the creative collaboration of musical theater performers Melissa Giattino and Ron DeStefano. Since its debut in February 2010, Two On Tap has entertained tens of thousands at countless theatrical concerts and gala events in the United States, and enjoyed headliner status aboard luxury cruise liners.

Reviewed by the New Orleans Times-Picayune: “A charming pair of performers, Giattino and DeStefano create a song-and-dance act that may have roots as deep as vaudeville, but together they add a kinetic flair that gives it a lively currency. The resulting show is simply adorable.”

The act includes precision tap dancing, vocals, choreography and unique musical arrangements.

The pair has enjoyed other glowing reviews. Recent accomplishments include multiple appearances at the National World War II Museum (New Orleans), headline performances on the Queen Mary 2’s historic transatlantic route, and multiple community concert tours including hundreds of cities throughout the Midwestern and Mountain states.

The duo also have an educational outreach and lead school and community programs in conjunction with their performances.

Outreach programs include audition workshops for aspiring high-school theater performers, and school performances/mini-concerts for young people that incorporate a structured curriculum on the history and evolution of tap dancing.

These outreach opportunities offered by Two On Tap help to boost ticket sales and have also sparked renewed interest in what some had considered to be a “lost” art form.

Giattino began her professional performing career at 17 in the National Tour of “A Chorus Line.” She made her Broadway debut as an original revival cast member of the tap-dancing spectacular, 42nd Street. She was a Radio City Rockette and has assisted and dance-captained for some of the most famous tap choreographers in the business, including Tony Award winner Danny Daniels and Tony Award nominee Randy Skinner. She has starred in musicals on stages around the world, including the title role in the International Tour of Peter Pan, Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, Esther Smith in Meet Me in St. Louis, and Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun.

DeStefano is originally from Florida and spent his college years balancing classical vocal performance studies at Florida State University with professional musical roles at Seaside Music Theater in Daytona Beach. Following graduation, he made his way to Manhattan, began auditioning for the Broadway stage, and only months later found himself making his international debut with the Tony-Award winning musical Evita. DeStefano appeared opposite Academy Award nominee Theodore Bikel in the Broadway tour of Fiddler on the Roof, and he has lent his lyric tenor to many shows including 42nd Street, Anything Goes, and Sugar Babies.