"Was Kunst ist, wissen Sie ebensogut wie ich, es ist nichts weiter als Rhythmus"

Kurt Schwitters

NEW ALBUM "FOOTPRINTS"

Thomas Marek Trio

featuring Patrick Bebelaar piano, Jan Roder bass, Thomas Marek tap dance & drums

Thomas Marek (*1972) is an Austrian tap dancer, drummer, photographer, and multidisciplinary artist, regarded as one of the leading artists of modern tap dance in Europe.

Born in Ludwigsburg, Germany, he started tap dancing at 15 and later studied under legendary figures like Brenda Bufalino, Barbara Duffy, Cholly Atkins, Honi Coles and many more.
In 1994, Marek created his first full-length tap show, blending tap with live music.
Between 1994 and 1996 he was a dancer in Brenda Bufalino's American Tap Dance Orchestra.
In 1999, Marek moved to Hamburg, becoming a prominent figure in the local tap and contemporary dance scenes. Between 2006 and 2015, he conceived, choreographed and directed four major dance theater productions at Hamburg’s Kampnagel theater: About_Tap Vol No 2, Orchestra, DRAMA, and NOLA. He also founded Footprints, a tap dance studio that remains active today.

After decades of playing the drums of fellow band mates at rehearsals and soundchecks, Marek took up drumming seriously in 2020, making it a central part of his artistic expression. Since moving to Vienna in 2017, he has focused on combining tap dance and drumming in live shows. His music ranges from jazz to free improvisation and electronic music. In 2024, he recorded his debut trio album with pianist Patrick Bebelaar, bassist Jan Roder and Thomas on drums and tap dancing. The album features tap dance as an additional percussive instrument and will be released in early 2025.

Throughout his career, Thomas has performed and shared the stage with world-class musicians and dancers, including Frank Kimbrough, Ben Allison, Brenda Bufalino, Jarle Vespestad, Patrick Bebelaar, Sarah Petronio, Joe Fonda, Jimmy Slyde, Barbara Duffy, Jan Roder, Johannes Strasser, Kurt Holzkämper, Gregory Hines, and many others.

Photography has been an important part of Thomas’s life since his early teenage years. In the 1990s, he began taking portraits of fellow performers and eventually turned his passion into another profession alongside his career in dance and performance.
His photographic work can be seen here: www.thomasmarekphotography.com

UPCOMING SHOWS, WORKSHOPS ETC.

30.07. 19.30: The Monday Ride Quartet @ Hotel Ruby Lissi, Vienna

02.07. Thomas Marek Trio @ La Vita Et Bella, Pilgramgasse 14-16, Wien

06.07. 19.30: Vienna Tap Jam @ The Black Sheep, Kettenbrückengasse 7, 1050 Vienna

07.07. 19.30: The Monday Ride Quartet @ Hotel Ruby Lissi, Vienna

12.07. Berlin: Release Concert of new album "Footprints"
Neue Bühne Friedrichshain.

12&13.07.: BERLIN JAZZ TAP SPECIAL „TAP INTO MUSIC“ at Bluetap Berlin.

Tap Dance / Music / Photography

Ob als Bühnenkünstler, Musiker oder Lehrer: Seit über 30 Jahren vereint Thomas Marek in seiner Arbeit traditionelle und moderne Formen des Tap Dance mit zeitgenössischen musikalischen und theatralischen Elementen. Schon die Meister, bei denen er lernte und die ihn inspirierten, waren und sind Erneuerer ihrer Kunst: Honi Coles, Cholly Atkins, Chuck Green, Buster Brown, Lon Chaney, Jimmy Slyde und allen voran Brenda Bufalino, mit deren American Tap Dance Orchestra er Mitte der Neunzigerjahre durch Florida tourte.

Tief verwurzelt im Jazz spielt Marek mit den Möglichkeiten von Klanggestaltung, von Phrasierung, Touch und Sound, lotet den Raum aus, in dem sich der Steptanz bewegt, verschiebt Grenzen und entdeckt neue Ausdrucksformen, die an die Ursprünge des Tap anknüpfen und aus seinem kulturellen Kontext schöpfen – und die neue Geschichten erzählen.

Solo, im Duo mit Bass oder Klavier oder im Jazz Quartet: Das Erzählerische in den abstrakten tänzerischen und musikalischen Formen ist der Motor von Mareks Kunst, in großen Tanzproduktionen ebenso wie in Jam Sessions und Workshops. Als Steptänzer ebenso wie als Schlagzeuger.

Ausverkaufte Theater zeugen davon, dass es Marek mit seinen Inszenierungen, musikalischen Reflexionen über kulturelle Tradition und individuellen Ausdruck im Zusammenspiel von Jazz, Choreographie und Improvisation gelingt, die Kunst des Tap Dance einem breiteren Publikum zugänglich zu machen. Als Drummer lässt er sich selbst von dieser Kunst inspirieren: Marek steppt wie ein Drummer und spielt Schlagzeug wie ein Steptänzer.

Musikalität und eigenen Ausdruck zu fördern, ist auch das Ziel, dem sich Thomas Marek als Lehrer verschrieben hat, den Sinn zu wecken für kreative Gestaltung auf Grundlage eines starken technischen Fundaments. Er ist regelmäßiger Gast als Workshopleiter sowie als Solist auf Festivals und Bühnen in Deutschland, Europa und den USA. Mit Schuhen und Drumsticks.

Whether as a stage artist, musician, or teacher: for over 30 years, Thomas Marek has been blending traditional and modern forms of tap dance with contemporary musical and theatrical elements. The masters who taught and inspired him were and are innovators of their craft: Honi Coles, Cholly Atkins, Chuck Green, Buster Brown, Lon Chaney, Jimmy Slyde, and above all, Brenda Bufalino, with whose American Tap Dance Orchestra he toured Florida in the mid-1990s.

Deeply rooted in jazz, Marek experiments with the possibilities of sound, phrasing, touch and tone. He explores the space in which tap dancing moves, he shifts boundaries and discovers new forms of expression that tie in with the origins of tap and draw on his own cultural context - revealing new stories

Whether solo, in a duo with bass or piano, or in a jazz quartet: the narrative quality within abstract dance and musical forms drives Marek’s artistry—on large stages as well as in jam sessions and workshops. As a tap dancer and as a drummer.

Sold-out theaters testify to Marek’s ability to make the art of tap dance accessible to wider audiences through his productions—musical reflections on cultural traditions and individual expression, woven from jazz, choreography, and improvisation.
As a drummer, he is equally inspired by the art of tap: Marek taps like a drummer and drums like a tap dancer.

Encouraging musicality and personal expression is also at the heart of Marek’s work as a teacher. His aim is to foster creative development on the basis of a strong technical foundation. He is a regular guest at festivals and on stages across Germany, Europe, and the USA—with shoes and drumsticks.

Demo Reel & Body Of Work

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