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.
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TM Demo Reel
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Bebelaar, Roder, Marek
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"Caravan" TM & Band
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"Nola", Kampnagel HH 2015.
"Final Scene"
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Trailer "Nola", Kampnagel HH 2015.
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"Nola", Kampnagel HH 2015.
"Phoenix 2"
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"Nola", Kampnagel HH 2015.
"Phoenix 1"
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"DRAMA", Kampnagel HH 2011. "I am three". by Charles Mingus
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"DRAMA", Kampnagel HH 2011. "Jazz & Cocktails"
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"ORCHESTRA - expansions & dimensions", Kampnagel HH 2009.
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Thomas Marek Sextett, Live at Überjazz 2011,Kampnagel HH.
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"Tap&Bass" Premiere "Beats". Int. Jazztage 2017, Theaterhaus Stuttgart
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PromoVideo "New Thing" Thomas Marek & Octet. 1996
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ARD Sportgala 1996 : Thomas Marek & Friends
Dance, Music & Theater Productions
1994
Aus Leidenschaft, Thomas Marek and Trio with Patrick Bebelaar, Bernd Settelmeyer and Kurt Holzkämper
1996
New Thing, Thomas Marek & Octet
1997
Tap & Bass, Duo with bass player Kurt Holzkämper
1999
Funked Up, Tap Dance Company, Hamburg
2003
Bebelaar & Marek, Duo with pianist Patrick Bebelaar.
2005
about_tap vol. no.1, Tanzhaus NRW, Düsseldorf
2006
about_tap vol. no. 2, Kampnagel Hamburg. Funded by Hamburger Kulturbehörde and Fonds Darstellende Künste
2009
ORCHESTRA – expansions & dimensions, Kampnagel Hamburg; funded by Hamburger Kulturbehörde and Fonds Darstellende Künste
2011
Thomas Marek & Band, Überjazz Festival, Hamburg with Lorenz Boesche, Markus Voigt, Oliver Karstens, Stefan Dahm
2012
DRAMA – love songs & other jazz, Kampnagel Hamburg; funded by Hamburger Kulturbehörde and Fonds Darstellende Künste
2015
NOLA, Kampnagel Hamburg; funded by Hamburger Kulturbehörde
2017
Tap & Bass BEATS, Internationale Jazz Tage Stuttgart
2019
Thomas Marek Quartet, Hamburg, mit Matthäus Winnitzki (piano), Tilman Oberbeck (bass), Stefan Dahm (drums)
2021
Public Parks - an audiovisual performance and sound installation, with Kurt Holzkämper. Supported by Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media
2023
The Jazz Tap Project: Duo show with tap dancer Kurt Albert. Philipp Moosbrugger (bass), Magdalena Plattner (piano).
2024
Album recording with Thomas Marek Trio. Patrick Bebelaar (Piano), Jan Roder (bass), Thomas Marek (tap dance / drums)
The Jazz Tap Quartet with Gina Schwarz (bass), Thomas Berghammer (trumpet), Kenji Herbert (guitar), Thomas Marek (tap dance & drums)
The Monday Ride Quartet : Jazz Quartet performing weekly at Ruby Lissi, Vienna. Featuring Alexander Vounelakos (piano), Martin Melzer (bass), Sara Hoffer (Sax), Thomas Marek (drums)
Engagements
1994
Dancer with the American Tap Dance Orchestra, directed by Brenda Bufalino, NYC. Performance with the American Tap Dance Orchestra & Gregory Hines in Gainesville, Florida
1995
US-Tour with the American Tap Dance Orchestra
1996
Choreography and artistic direction of the tap dance performance ARD Sportler des Jahres 1996
1997
Engagement as Al Lewis in Neil Simons play Sonny Boys, Scala Theater Ludwigsburg
1998
Funk Attitude (Artistic direction: Leela Petronio), Paris
1999
Show "Planete Tap" by Leela Petronio. Featuring Jimmy Slyde, Sarah Petronio, Bakaari Wilder, Mark Mendonca and many more...
2002
Engagement as Jack Romano in the theatrical adaptation of Jim Jarmuschs Down By Law,Scala Theater Ludwigsburg
2005
Tap City, New York Tap Festival. Duo performance with Patrick Bebelaar and Duo with Bassist Joe Fonda.
Teaching & Festivals
- New York City Tap Festival, NYC
- Steps On Broadway, NYC
- Broadway Dance Center, NYC
- Woodpeckers, NYC
- Tel Aviv Tap Festival
- Internationale Tanztage Wien
- University Of Washington, Seattle
- Professional Tap Training, Luthier, Barcelona
- Tap Ahead Festivals, Düsseldorf
- Deer Valley International Music Festival, Taiwan
- Zürcher Theaterspektakel
- Internationale Jazztage Stuttgart
- Theaterfestival Isny
- Workshop all over Europe
- Herrang Dance Camp
2025
Album FOOTPRINTS Release.
(HBGSBlue 2025)
Thomas Marek Trio. Patrick Bebelaar (Piano), Jan Roder (bass), Thomas Marek (tap dance / drums)