Max Pollak, is a Bessie Award nominee 2011, 2010 Individual Artist Grantee of the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance and 2008 fellow in Choreography from the New York Foundation of the Arts. He is one of the most prestigious names on the international tap scene today. He is recognized worldwide for his superior musicianship and his highly individual style as the first person to merge authentic Afro-Cuban music and dance with American rhythm tap and body music to create RumbaTap.

Originator of Cuba's first tap festival, he has been teaching and performing there since 1998, and has worked with Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Cuba's top Rumba group, Chucho Valdés, Lila Downs and jazz legends Ray Brown, Phil Woods, Paquito D'Rivera, Slide Hampton and Danilo Perez.

He is also recognized for making European and South American classical music more accessible by playing with classical ensembles in prestigious venues like Vienna's Konzerthaus, Musikverein, Havana's Teatro Nacional and Teatro Amadeo Roldan. He has performed with members of both the Vienna Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic as well as the Duluth Superior and Plano Symphony Orchestras, with the latter two as soloist in the Morton Gould Tap Dance Concerto.

On faculty at Sarah Lawrence College, he travels the world with his group RumbaTap and is about to release his first CD recording.

Max's Credits:

New York Stage Performances

• Lincoln Center - Jazz at Lincoln Center, Alice Tully Hall, Meet The Artist
• RumbaTap, Manhattan Tap, Feet 2 The Beat, Beat The Donkey (1995 - 2008)
• Soloist w/ Cyro Baptista; Ray Brown, Danilo Perez, John DiMartino, Yosvany Terry, Dafnis Prieto, Bobby Sanabria's Quarteto Aché
  
• Central Park Summer Stage
• RumbaTap (2008) Beat The Donkey (2000)
• Joyce Theater
• RumbaTap (2005) Urban Tap (2002)
• Joyce Soho
• RumbaTap (2007, 2006)
• Doris Duke Theater
• RumbaTap (2001 - 2007) Dejelaba Groove (2005) Global Jam (2004);
• Tap City (2001 - 2007)
• New Victory Theater
• Urban Tap (2001)
• Public Theatre
• Global Fest w/ Roxane Butterfly (2006)
• Symphony Space
• RumbaTap (2008, 2007) Jazz Nativity in the role of the Third King usually played by Jimmy Slyde w/ Paquito D'Rivera, Slide Hampton, Dave Valentin (2005)
• Town Hall
• Barry Harris Spring Concert w/ Jimmy Slyde (2002) Super Son Cubano w/ Jose Fajardo, J.P. Torres (1999) Manhattan Tap (1992)
• Tribeca Arts Center
• Lost Jazz Shrines featuring Phil Woods, Roxane Butterfly (2008)
• 92nd Street Y
• Kathak Ensemble (2006)
• La Mama
• RumbaTap (2007)

New York Club Performances

• Joe's Pub
• RumbaTap (2007) Los Muñequitos de Matanzas (2002)
• Jazz Standard
• TrioNada (2008) Grupo Los Santos (2008)
• Cachaça
• The Paul Carlon Octet (2008)
• Birdland
• Jazz Nativity (2006)
• Makor
• RumbaTap (2003) Beat The Donkey (2003)
• Bacchus Room
• Host of regular Jazz and Tap jam (2006)
• Les Gamins
• Regular Weekly Tap Show (2003)

National Performances

• Kennedy Center, Washington D.C.; Beat The Donkey (2003) Urban Tap (2001)
• Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival; RumbaTap (2007, 2005) Jimmy Slyde and Friends (1996)
• Chicago World Music Festival, Chicago IL; Beat The Donkey (2003)
• Smithsonian Institute, Washington D.C.; Lalo's Urban Myth (2008)
• Festival International, Lafayette LA; Beat The Donkey (2004)
• Wesleyan University, Middletown CN; Beat The Donkey (2003)
Battel Chappel, New Haven CN; Duke Ellington's Sacred Concert (2003)

International Performances

• Berlin, Germany - Filmbühne am Steinplatz; Jazz ' N Tap (2008)
• Barcelona, Spain - Mercat de les Flors; Max Pollak en Vivo (2008)
• Athens, Greece - Philipos Nakas Conservatory; Solo Concert, Tap Motif (2008)
• Riga, Latvia - International Tap Dance Festival; RumbaTap (2007)
• Düsseldorf, Germany; RumbaTap (2007, 2006)
• Bern, Switzerland - Köniz Castle; Solo Concert (2007)
• Havana, Cuba; RumbaTap (2006) (2001) Cuban Tap Festival, Tambo Cuba (2001) Alberta, Canada - Edmonton Tap Festival; Tap Into A Cure (2006)
• Helsinki, Finland - Feet Beet Tap Festival; RumbaTap (2006, 2005, 2003, 2002)
• Rennes, France - Tap Breizh Festival; RumbaTap (2006, 2005)
• Tokyo & Kyoto, Japan; RumbaTap (2005)
• Vienna, Austria - Konzerthaus; Solo Concert (2004)
• Agadir, Morrocco - Timitar Festival; Beat The Donkey (2004)
• Talinn, Estonia - Russian Theatre; Talin Tap Festival (2004, 2003)
• Berlin, Germany - International Tap Festival; Solo Concert (2002)
• Kuopio, Finland - Kuopio Dance Festival (2001)
• Lisbon, Portugal - Cool Heat/Urban Heat (2001)

International Tours

• Solo Concerts (1995 - 2008)
• Austria, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Japan, Latvia, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, USA
• RumbaTap (2004 - 2008)
• Austria, France, Germany, Japan, Monaco, Switzerland, USA
• TrioNada (2008, 2007)
• Austria, Germany, USA
• Beat The Donkey (2000 - 2006) w/Cyro Baptista
• Belgium, France, Holland, Italy, Morrocco, Portugal, Switzerland, USA
• Cool Heat - Urban Beat (1998 - 2001) w/ Tamango & Rennie Harris
• Australia, Denmark, England, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Scotland, USA
• Feet 2 The Beat (1997 - 2001) w/ Rod Ferrone
• Canada, Colombia, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, USA
• Manhattan Tap (1992 - 1997)
• Canada, England, France, Scotland, Switzerland, USA

Films / Documentaries

• Da Me La Mano (2003) Dutch Documentary
• La Historia de la Rumba (2002) Cuban Documentary
• Como Se Forma Una Rumba (2001) US Documentary
• Featured at the "Latin Beat Film Festival", Lincoln Center
• Latido Latino (2000) Spanish Documentary
• The Tango Lesson (1997) Tap coach for lead actor Pablo Veron

Discography

• TrioNada (2008) TrioNada
• Roots Propaganda (2008) Paul Carlon Octet
• Lalo's Urban Myth (2008) Lalo's Urban Myth
• Lo Que Somos Lo Que Sea (2008) Grupo Los Santos
• Other Tongues (2007) Paul Carlon Octet
• Love The Donkey (2005) Beat The Donkey
• Cyro Baptista & Beat The Donkey (2002) Beat The Donkey
• El Otro Lado (2001) Syotos Band and members of Tito Puente Orchestra
• Cool Heat - Urban Beat (1999) w/Tamango and Daniel Moreno
• Recorded live at the Spoletto Festival, Italy

Published Articles

• Dance Magazine
• What I love about Tap: Max Pollak reflects on his favorite moments in Tap history (May 2008)
• Tap Dance Technique (September 2007)
• Global Tap (May 2007)
• Ballet Tanz Magazine, Germany
• A Brief History of Tap Dance (2002)
• On Tap (International Tap Association Newsletter)
• Making Money To Cabaret With Vaudeville Generations: Phace Roberts, Rod Ferrone (2001)
• Closing The Gap - Tap Generations: Buster Brown, Roxane Butterfly (1999)
• Interview with a Tap Diva: Tina Pratt (1999)
• The Real Jimmy Slyde (1997)

University Lectures/Residencies (1995 - 2008)

• Australia: Worawa Aboriginal College, Melbourne
• Cuba: Universidad de La Habana, Escuela Nacional de Arte; Havana
• Germany: University at Leipzig