to Germany to compete with dancers from 30 other countries at the World Tap Championships. (Courtesy Jill Overton)
When Jayme Overton started tap dancing at age six, she had no idea that she would later be competing on international stages as part of a USA tap dance team.
Overton, 16, will travel with other members of the American Tap Company (ATC) in December to Germany to compete with dancers from 30 other countries at the World Tap Championships.
It will be her second visit to the championships.
The teen, who also dances locally with SI Dance in Williamsburg and has traveled the country to participate in other tap intensive programs, first heard about ATC through the Internet in 2015 and decided to audition.
“I was so excited when I heard I had made the team,” she said. “I started crying.”
Overton competed in the junior contest later that year at the World Tap Championships, an
experience she says that she will never forget.
“It was so much fun to bond with the tap dancers from the other countries, to hang out with them, learn from them, and see how they express themselves through tap dancing,” Overton said.
“It was a very cool experience.”
During her first jaunt to the World Tap Championships, ATC placed 6th in the junior trio and formation routines and 8th in the small group routine.
“It is very emotional to hear your name called,” she said.
Overton’s parents first enrolled her in dance classes as a child after she expressed interest in wanting to follow in the footsteps of her older sister, who was a dancer too. While Overton also has a background in jazz, ballet, and contemporary dance, her forte is in tap dance.
to Germany to compete with dancers from 30 other countries at the World Tap Championships. (Courtesy Jill Overton)
“Since the very beginning, tap dance has always been my favorite,” Overton said. “Tap is so much more than just the movement of dance because you are also making the noise with your feet. I also think the tap dancing community is such a loving environment. Everyone is always just so happy when they are tap dancing.”
Her parents have been nothing but supportive and encouraging.
“We are obviously very proud of her and her passion and willingness to put forth the effort to practice,” Overton’s mother, Jill Overton, said. “She’s pushed herself very hard.”
Overton, who is homeschooled, flies by herself one weekend each month to Massachusetts for more than 15 hours of ATC training. She also dances locally five hours every weeknight and has a tap floor in her bedroom for practice. In addition to ATC and SI Dance, Overton belongs to another tap dance team in the Washington DC area called The JaM Youth Project. Through The JaM Youth Project, Overton has honed skills in performing on camera.
“Jayme works with other kids from all over the country with The JaM Youth Project,” Overton’s mother said. “It’s neat because both the parents and kids have developed friendships with people from other states and it is fun to reunite with them each month. The tap dance community is a different community than the typical dance community.”
Overton would one day like to become a tap dance instructor, but for now her focus is on this year’s World Tap Championships. The ATC team boasts dancers from 12 states. At age 16, she is now eligible to compete in the adult contest.
She will be performing in three adult numbers: formation; small group, with seven other tappers; and trio.
“We will be competing against teachers,” she said. “That makes me push even harder. I think it will be a great learning experience.”
One that she hopes will end with her name being announced for all to hear.
“Hopefully, I will bring home a medal,” she said. “That is a huge goal of mine.”
