SHELBY KAUFMAN

Shelby Kaufman, a Michigan native, has spent nearly two decades as a driving force in New York City’s dance scene with appearances spanning Lincoln Center and Jacob’s Pillow, to the Today Show and Sesame Street. A versatile choreographer and performer, Kaufman has created work for Tovah Feldshuh’s one-woman show Aging is Optional and the feature film A Bread Factory Part 2. In Spring 2025, she was selected as the Dance Lab NY Connect Choreographer, where she developed new work on Pace University’s commercial dance students under the mentorship of Broadway choreographer Denis Jones. Her Off-Broadway credits include assistant choreographing Freckleface Strawberry the Musical alongside Gail Crutchfield, and serving as the SDCF Observer on Nobody Loves You, working with three-time Emmy Award–winning choreographer Mandy Moore.

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As a tap dance artist, Kaufman has performed with Brenda Bufalino’s New American Tap Dance Orchestra and Germaine Salsberg’s Les Femmes. She was also a devoted protégé and assistant to the late tap

legend and famed entertainer Dr. Harold “Stumpy”

Cromer, and later received a Changing Times Tap

Initiative grant alongside Sarah Reich and Hillary-Marie

Michael to preserve and share his celebrated work Opus

One with the broader tap community.

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In May 2025, Kaufman was honored by the State of

New York with an official citation recognizing her as a

“Champion of Tap Dance.” She currently teaches at

Broadway Dance Center, Steps on Broadway, and

Shuffles NYC, and is a sought-after instructor at

festivals, conventions, and workshops worldwide. Her

social media presence has garnered over 70 million

views.