Shelley Oliver Tap Dancers to appear in a free concert at Tyler Consolidated High School on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

A legend in the tap dancing world will highlight ArtsLink’s annual free concert. The concert, sponsored by the Stealey Community Fund, will be held on Thursday night, Oct. 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium at Tyler Consolidated High School.

This year’s artist will be the Shelley Oliver Tap Dancers, accompanied by the David Leonhardt Trio. Audiences will remember Leonhardt as the artist who performed at ArtsLink’s 2011 Valentine’s Concert. According to Robert Johnson of the Newark Star Ledger, “Oliver and her associates are serious artists. When they sink into a groove and let the music carry them away, the audience is transported.”

Shelley Oliver, tap dancer, choreographer, and educator, has appeared internationally with some of the legends in the tap world. She is a founding member of the popular dance ensemble, Manhattan Tap, and was co-artistic director and choreographer with the company. Oliver has toured extensively throughout Europe, China, the Caribbean, Canada, and the United States. Her television appearances include Tap Dance in America with Gregory Hines, and Star Search. Oliver has appeared with such tap notables as Savion Glover, Jimmy Slide, Buster Brown, Steve Condos, and Chuck Green. She has also performed with many great jazz musicians including Slide Hampton, David “Fathead” Newman, Robin Eubanks, and Kenny Washington. She teaches jazz tap at Muhlenberg College and is the director of the Muhlenberg Jazz Tap Ensemble. Dancing along with Oliver will be Rebekkah Brown, Emily Newman, and Jeremy Arnold. Arnold appeared on the sixth season of Fox’s television show, So You Think You Can Dance.

Leonhardt of the David Leonhardt Trio is a jazz pianist who has appeared at the International Arts Festival of Shenzen in China, the Winnipeg Jazz Festival, The French Maison de Dance in Lyon, as well festivals and concerts throughout the United States. He has been heard at The Apollo Theater, The Blue Note, Birdland, The Village Gate, and other New York area nightclubs. He was musical director for jazz vocal legend Jon Hendricks for four years and has played for over 15 years as the pianist in The David “Fathead” Newman Quartet. Other members of the Trio include Paul Wells and Matthew Parish.

ArtsLink is committed to providing universal accessibility wherever possible.

Support for ArtsLink’s activities is provided by West Virginia Northern Community College, WETZ/ WYMJ/ WNRJ Radio, Chesapeake Energy, Dominion, the Wells Inn, and Ohio Valley Online. Persons with special needs may contact ArtsLink at 304-455-2278.

Grant funding provided by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts. Additional support received from Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour, a program developed and funded by The Heinz Endowments; the William Penn Foundation; the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency; and the Pew Charitable Trusts; and administered by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. The Stealey Community Fund is a component fund of the Community Foundation of the Ohio Valley, Inc.