Welcome!

Hi! I’m Denise
Caston-Clark

A dancer, choreographer and dance educator

Below this is my blog. Scroll down further to read more about my career and other inspirations.

  • Ditch these terms
    We should consider retiring these phrases.
  • You might be surprised
    It’s never what you expect.
  • What is a class
    What makes a class, a class?
  • Tricks
    Let’s talk comps! “Tricks win” is a common sentiment regarding dance competitions and judging. Threads inquiring about what judges are looking for is is another common topic of conversation. Complaints about critiques are prevalent. I’m going to break this down. Executing tricks for the sake of tricks is not interesting. It’s not something I want to see or something that is impressive. 99% of turns in second on the competition stage are not stage ready. A majority of pirouettes done on the competition stage are not stage ready. Aerials are almost always not interesting. Heel stretches (I don’t enjoy calling […]
  • Make it stick
    Now sounds good.
Read the Blog

My Work

Dancer

Selected career highlights: I am proud to have danced as a Radio City Rockette for 10 years. I toured nationally with the Tony Award winning musical, “Crazy For You”. I got to work with Savion Glover and perform his choreography in an NYC showcase in 2004! In 2002, I toured Australia with “Elvis To the Max”! What an experience! I had a lot of fun performing in and contributing choreography to many productions at Caesars Windsor in Ontario, Canada.

Choreographer

My most recent endeavor was “Beatles On Tap”, a tap production performed to iconic Beatles music, performed live by some of Detroit’s best musicians. My choreography has been performed in New York City at Tony Waag’s ‘Something’s Afoot’, my own NYC Choreographers Forum, the Steps On Broadway Industry Showcase, Steps On Broadway Performance Lab, and the Broadway Dance Center Student Showcase. There’s more! Those are my favorites.

Dance Educator

Most known for tap, I’ve been training dancers in all disciplines since 1995. It was an honor to be on the tap faculty of Broadway Dance Center and Steps On Broadway, two of the most prestigious studios in the world. In addition to founding and producing Motor City Tap Fest, I’ve taught at many festivals across the country, including The Big Apple Tap Festival, Phoenix Tap Fest and the historic St. Louis Tap Festival, and the Dance Masters of Michigan convention!