by Jackie Seale ’27
May 2024
A black tie event filled with performances of all kinds and great food – what could be better than this?
TAPstravaganza is an event that showcases visual and performing art talent at USN. Occurring annually in the Durnan Auditorium, it functions to give the school community a look into the accomplishments of art students, as well as provide a space for each student’s work to be celebrated. This year’s event was held on Saturday, March 23.
The event is funded by the Tiger Arts Patrons (TAP), a booster club at USN that is devoted to the arts. It is run by Melissa Flatt and Ritu Joseph, USN parents, who have been involved with TAP for many years. TAP helps to fund art events, create a larger platform for performing and visual arts to be celebrated, and provide TAP members with free tickets to the majority of shows.
TAPstravaganza premiered in 2013, but didn’t return until ten years later in 2023. Flatt was part of the original crew of organizers for the event.
“The general consensus was that maybe we were ahead of our time, so the administration and the powers that be at that time decided to shelve it for a while,” Flatt said.
After 10 years, new arts programs and staff have been created and added, and when the event was revitalized in 2023, it was well received. In fact, both last year and this year, TAPstravaganza have sold out completely. The concept of a fun, fancy, and food-filled event seems to be popular among a wide range of members of the USN community.
This year’s event was very similar to last year. Flatt said that people had a better understanding of how to organize the event this year after having done it once.
“I think everybody was more aware of how the flow would go, so it seemed a little smoother this year… but by and large the general concepts have been the same,” Flatt said.
With over 70 performers ranging from Lower School to High School, a lot of work was needed to set up for the show.
“And then you pull in parents on top of that, especially with your lower school getting people to rehearse and commit to the time,” Flatt said, “A lot of that (preparation) happens starting as early as January… It’s the coordination that happens this semester, and then the biggest part is all hands on deck on Saturday [the day of the show].”
This year, the event started with a video that displayed the names of all performing and visual arts students at USN (including every lower school student!). As Flatt specified, the event is not an awards ceremony, but a recognition event to celebrate the arts. This video allowed the audience to acknowledge arts students while viewing photos of previous arts events.
Following the slow but comedic rise of the projector screen, the crowd became engaged in the following faculty song, “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing, by clapping along enthusiastically.
Many more fun acts followed, including performances from Matilda, Lower through High school dance, and countless vocal pieces. Soloist highlights included Caden Carraba ‘27 performing the song “Courage” from The Wizard of Oz, and Ella Rieniets ‘24 dancing to Billie Eilish’s song, “Therefore I Am”.
The night ended with The Jets (a local band), playing covers of “Chariot” by Gavin DeGraw and “Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty. Seth Prince ‘25 played bass, Sid Pruthi ‘25 on drums, Oliver McDowell ‘25 rocked the guitar, and Brendan West ‘25 sang and played piano.
As the crowd began to disperse, pictures were taken and people began cleaning up. The entertaining night had ended, but everyone looked forward to when the red carpet will be rolled out once again next year.
TAPstravaganza’s role in the USN community is to showcase and represent all of the art classes and programs. Despite the fact that it only takes place once a year, Flatt says that it accurately captures the breadth and importance of the arts within the USN community.
“I think TAPstravaganza, for the past two years, has done a really great job. I do think that it is a good representation of all of the things that are going on [in the arts programs],” Flatt said.
