Quick Facts
Biography
Tamangoh Herbin VanCayseele Stanislas (born January 24, 1965) is a French Guianese/American tap artist. A native of French Guiana, Tamangoh moved to Paris at age nine and was later adopted at 15 by Michel van Cayseele, a French baron, who gave him his name Herbin Van Cayseele. Showing early signs of a natural talent for dance, Tamangoh began his formal education in art by entering Beaux-Art de Paris, and by his early twenties, he started tap dancing at the American Center in Paris. Tamangoh and a group of street musicians formed a group called the Over Excited who toured Europe and eventually to New York in 1988.
Career
Tamangoh's first major performances in the early 1990's included the Majesty of Tap at Lincoln Center, New York; Philippe Decoufle's 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville; and the Opera de Paris in Peut-on Dancer un Paysage, directed by Min Tanaka and Karel Appel. As part of the downtown New York scene, Tamangoh gathered a group of musicians, capoeiristas, dancers and rappers and they began to perform in clubs and theaters which in 1993 led to his founding of 'Urban Tap', an award-winning, theatrical tap dance ensemble.
Together with VJ “Naj”Jean de Boysson who provides video backdrops for the dance choreography, the troupe’s multimedia performances include “Caravane”, “Full Cycle” (2002), and “Bay Mo Dilo (Give Me Water) (2007). Throughout his career, Tamangoh has performed with dancers including Mikail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, Bunny Briggs, Jimmy Slyde, Chuck Green, Buster Brown, Lon Chaney, Sarah Petronio, Tina Pratt and Savion Glover, The Nicholas Brothers, Ralph Brown, George Hillman, and Harriet Brown. Additional collaborations include musicians Bobby McFerrin, David Murray, Chucho Valdes, Christian McBride, Barry Harris, Jimmy Woode, Charlie Hunter, Richard Bona, Cheikh Tidiane Seck, Elvin Jones, Giovanni Hidalgo, tabla player Zakir Hussein, Omar Sosa, William Cepeda, Elvin Jones, Barry Harris, Billy Higgins, Frank West, Moroccan Gnawa Master Mahmoud Guinea, Taiko Ensemble KODO, Kodo on Sado Island, Japan, Kaoru Watanabe, Mio Matsuda, Philip Decouflet, Giovanni Hidalgo, and master Senegalese drummer Dou Dou Ndiay Rose, Magic Malik.
Appearances
The Joyce Theater, New Victory Theater, music festivals, including Montreaux Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Sacred Music Festival in Fez, Morocco, and Sacred Music Festivals in Nagaur and Jodhpur, India.