Featured Artists
Logan Shaffner · Conversations
Logan Shaffner began training at the age of 6, where she attended several competitive studios within Calgary. Discovering a passion for tap, she was an active part of the Tri-Tone Rhythm Ensemble for 8 years. Through Tri-Tone, Logan has studied under many world-renowned tap artists such as Dianne Walker, Brenda Bufalino, Acia Gray, and Travis Knights, to name a few. Association with Tri-Tone has given her many opportunities to train and travel. For Logan, a highlight was attending the Chicago Human Rhythm Project in 2019. In Chicago, where she had the privilege of being exposed to the unique tap style of Swiss dancer Daniel Borak, who continues to inspire Logan to this day. She attended Central Memorial High School and graduated in 2021 with a Performing And Visual Arts certificate specializing in dance. In her final year, she was the recipient of the Central Memorial High School Dance Innovator Award. To kick start her teaching career she completed the Tap Dance Teacher Training certification through Tasha Lawson in 2021. After high school, Logan started teaching in the Calgary area and continued her personal training through the Professional Training Program hosted at Decidedly Jazz Danceworks. Through this program, she gained many unique opportunities and experiences. She delved into true vernacular jazz, working with live musicians, and exploring choreography. Since completing the Professional Training Program, Logan has taught and choreographed for several studios in Calgary and is excited to continue sharing her knowledge with young dancers.
Conversations
“Conversations” is a project I (Logan Shaffner) started conceptualizing 2 years ago. The original idea was to merge tap dance with percussion. What if the dancer was the musical instrument? What if the dancer led the music instead of the percussion? What if there was a conversation between the dancer and the musician? To dive deep into this concept, I started by finding improvised drum tracks. I studied the patterns and memorized the rhythms that appeared repeatedly throughout the songs and tracks I found. I then translated those rhythms into tap dance, playing with getting the exact quality and tone the drums would have. After experimenting for a while, I had the opportunity through the Professional Training Program at Decidedly Jazz Danceworks to create a piece for the 2024 FootPrints show. I knew that I needed a musician and at least one other dancer to bring the idea of a conversation to life — so I contacted two other students in the Professional Training Program, Chantel Broderick and M’kayla Kongnetiman, who jumped at the opportunity. Chantel did our percussion and drumming while M’kayla and I tap danced. We loved working in reverse on this project by creating tap rhythms inspired by improvised drum solos and then adding new complementary drum beats on top to create a unique listening experience. While we delved deeper into this project, I wanted to ensure we stayed in touch with the roots of tap dance as an art form. To do so, I incorporated composition techniques used in tap jams, such as trades, solos, stop time, and walking the bass (or in this case, walking the drums). It was a very collaborative effort between Chantel and myself to compose this new piece of music with tap dance in mind throughout. This process in itself was extremely fulfilling, and I loved seeing all three of us grow as musicians and artists. We performed this fully actualized six-and-a-half-minute-long piece in May of 2024. The piece received amazing feedback, and we were requested to perform it again at the 2024 Black and White Ball Fundraiser in the Fairmont Hotel, and our latest performance was at the FluidFest Cabaret 2025.
Note: I do not have a "Tour Ready" show but I have plenty of ideas for a full length show and I know exactly how I would fill a full show length collection of work. We could start rehearsals immediately.