CIRCUIT PRODUCTIONS: Promoting Education in Music, Dance and the Performing Arts

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Members:

Max Pollak
Chikako Iwahori
Alby Roblejo
Ben Lapidus

Artists' official website
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Upcoming Circuit Productions Sponsored Performances:

5/30 - Bronx Community College
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Request booking & press info

Interested in booking this performer or getting more information about available programs for your events?

Simply send us an email, mentioning which artist(s) you are interested in. We will call or email you to see how we can best fill your needs.

Circuit Productions Inc. (CPI) is supported, in part, with public funds from New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Max Pollak & RumbaTap

Max Pollak

Max Pollak (Artistic Director, Choreography, Tap, Vocals) started his career as a drummer in his native Austria. His initial training in rhythm tap came from Carnell Lyons, an American who settled in Berlin and became a pioneer of tap pedagogy in Europe. Already an accomplished professional drummer and tapper abroad, Pollak moved to New York in 1991. He furthered his tap studies here with various tap legends, including Dr. Jimmy Slyde, and Dr. Buster Brown, and his jazz studies at the New School University, where he graduated in 1995.

From NYC's vibrant Latino community, he soon began incorporating elements of Afro-Cuban jazz and folkloric music in his performances, and thus began his "RumbaTap." Ever the scholar as well as the artist, Pollak studied Afro-Cuban percussion and dance for ten years. Today he is recognized worldwide as the creator of the unique Rumba Tap company. He has been embraced by the Cuban community and has taught several workshops at the University of Havana. Other past and future teaching and performing engagements for Pollak and company include Germany, Austria, Lithuania, Greece, and Japan.
^ back to top

Chikako Iwahori

Chikako Iwahori (Tap,Vocals), originally from Tokyo, Japan, moved to New York in 1995 to study Rhythm Tap and West African dance and drum. Since 1996 she has been working as a dancer, teacher, choreographer, singer and drummer touring the USA and Europe with Irene Koloseus’s Féraba-African Rhythm Tap, Manhattan Tap, Guinean master griot Keba Cissoko's band Tamalalou, Max Pollak’s RumbaTap, Barbara Duffy and Company, RhythMutation with Stephanie Larriere and with Cyro Baptista's Beat the Donkey.
^ back to top

Alby Roblejo

Alby Roblejo (Percussion) a Florida native has traveled Asia studying South Indian and Uzbeki traditions focusing on frame drums. He is a versatile percussionist on the New York world music scene.

Ben Lapidus

Ben Lapidus (Guitar, Tres), from Brooklyn, is an internationally renowned jazz musician and published writer and scholar specializing in Cuban music. He leads his own Latin jazz ensemble Sonido Isleño and has performed with many of the greatest names in Latin jazz.
^ back to top