Rashida Mann
Instructor
Rashida Khan Mann, tap teacher/choreographer/director, began dancing at the age of 3. She trained in all forms of the art, but fell in love and began to focus on tap dancing around the age of 12. The turning point when she was selected to join the Jazz Tap Ensemble’s Caravan Project, a company under the direction of tap master Lynn Dally. It was there she began to appreciate and learn the history of the dance and understand the complexity and musicality of tap. She also performed with Rhapsody In Taps with Linda Sohl Ellison, with which she toured throughout the US, Canada, Japan, and Bali. This company also gave her the opportunity to train and share the stage with many of the greats, from the Nicholas Brothers to Gregory Hines to name a few, as well as the honor of assisting Leonard Reed in his original Shim Sham master class. Rashida has been featured in tap/ hip hop/percussion shows for both Disney and Universal Studios, tv shows for the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, as well as fulfilling her childhood dream of working with Michael Jackson on his video and short film, “Rock My World.” She has choreographed many musicals, theater, and high school performances, most specifically with the Nationally award-winning Los Alamitos show Choir, along with her mentor Heather Hoppus Werner (of Broadway’s Beauty and the Beast).
In 2002, Rashida met her now husband, Parris Mann (of both Broadway and touring casts of Riverdance, and Black and Blue) when she performed in his show “Things Ain’t What They Used To Be”. They toured Russia, Lithuania, the Ukraine, and surrounding areas, even making history as the first African American performers at the Kremlin. They now own a production company, KhanMann Productions, producing stage shows and various performances. Rashida and Parris tag team teach, choreograph and direct together, with a fun, energetic, style: a representation of their passion for both the artform and teaching. They are currently the Tap Team Directors at Elevation Studios in Long Beach, teach at Hart Academy in La Habra, and numerous master classes on both the east and west coast.