Soloist: An original member of the New Jersey Tap Dance Ensemble, Karen Callaway Williams was the company's first dance captain. She can be seen in the documentary, "Been Rich All My Life"(The Story of the Silver Belles). Broadway credits include Play On! and Riverdance, in which she was the first African American female dancer and dance captain.
A special guest artist on Sesame Street, she was also interviewed in "Bojangles, the Legacy" for Showtime. Karen tours nationally and internationally with Tap City on Tour and Tap Tel Aviv. She has performed at the Cotton Club and the Apollo, has been featured in Essence, and is on the cover of Flow Magazine's Summer 2007 issue. She has been a guest tap soloist with The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, and the Cincinnati Pops. Karen's first children's book, "Gabriella's Tap Shoes," is about to be released.
A graduate of Spelman College with a degree in psychology and dance, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, Karen was a charter member, featured dancer, and dance captain of the New Jersey Tap Ensemble. She appeared with Duke Ellington in Italy and at Lincoln Center in the MAJESTY OF TAP (the lone female tap artist), and in JIMMY SLYDE & FRIENDS at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. She has been featured in Lincoln Center's Reel to Real Series,
including YANKY DOODLE BOYS, THE BROTHERHOOD OF TAP and STORY T'ELLINGTON, and was heralded by DanceMagazine as “a graceful dream with taps as happy as a song” for her performance at the CHICAGO TAP FESTIVAL.
The illustrator - Patricia A. Carroll holds a B.A degree in Fashion Illustration and Fashion Merchandising from Centenary College . Look for future work from her, in book II “Gabriella and the tap dance floor”
In the Fall of 2005, Tami Reed had the opportunity to start her own talk show,”Talking with Tami!” to help viewers learn more about entrepreneurship and business ventures. Tami has always been passionate about people owning their own businesses. She had a very successful business in Cleveland, Ohio, for years, before getting into the entertainment industry. She attended Kent State University and University of Phoenix earning her Bachelors in Business Management.
She is also certified in Television Production. She has interviewed many notable celebrities - Usher, Sarah Ferguson The Duchess of York, Jane Fonda, Gilles Mirini, Pamela Anderson, Fergie, Jerry Springer, Sean Combs, Steve Harvey and many more. Tami has walked the red carpets at the ASCAP Awards, The Playboy Mansion, Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, NAACP Image Awards, The Grammys, BET Awards, Bravo A-List Awards and many others.
She has made many television appearances, including the Mike & Juliet Show, HGTV’s Deserving Design, Real Housewives of Atlanta, CBS Better Mornings. Hosting duties found her involved with events such as, The Pink Party with Fantasia & Eva Pigford, Real Women of Atlanta Breast Cancer Charity Event, Sephora’s store opening, Princess Dream. Tami has been featured in Skirt Magazine, Six Degrees Magazine, The New York Times bestseller, The Mocha Manual (turning your passion into profit), Family Circle, Essence, Glamour and many others. She has done countless interviews online. She has also been the guest writer for many online magazines and other social websites. Her variety talk show, based in Atlanta, airs weekly on Comcast channel 25, Mondays at 6:30 p.m.
Tami also hosts a live web show on www.momtv.com every Monday at 11:00 a.m. EST. You can also hear her give the entertainment report for HYPERLINK "http://www.newstalkcleveland.com" www.newstalkcleveland.com every Wednesday at 6:45 p.m. on Unsportsmanlike Conduct on Radio One 1490. She produces three television shows - Talking With Tami, Talking With Kids, and Girls Nite In. She has won several awards for her talk show and has been nominated for many others. She has also been recognized in her community for speaking to at-risk teens and women in homeless shelters. She speaks annually at the Gwinnett County Peer Leadership Workshop, where she teaches kids to dream big. Tami resides in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and two children. Her signature trademark is pink and when you see her out, you can’t miss her Pinktabulous style and bubbly personality! http://www.talkingwithtami.com
