Tapz & Wake
MAD Unified Co-Founders
Tapz and Wake have been talking about this MAD Crazy idea since before 2012, and we finally made it happen and 26 MAD O.G.s met @ Marilyn's Academy of Dance on January 10th, 2020. 3 Months Later, COVID-19 took the world by storm. We took it MAD Seriously, but it still didn't stop us from continuing to UNIFY our community and our world.
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Our goal for MAD Unified is to fill the need for more adult unified/integrated programs in our communities after our Special Olympic Athletes and Unified Partners leave the school system. We would like to use music, dance and art to create an integrated family of humans of all abilities who will learn new skills and open new doors in the dance studio, culminating in performances, videos and moments which will inject Unified Culture into our communities and expose the masses to the wonderful world of inclusion.
We will change the world, one song at a time.
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Music is our pulse. Inclusion, our strength.
Patrick Burns
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"Tapz" is an Arizona native and a proud father of 3 awesome kids. He was raised in Peoria dancing at his Mom's dance studio and learning life through dance as he has danced through life with a contagious energy that lights up a room...and that is BEFORE he starts dancing. "Tapz", a nickname earned with his quick feet in tap shoes and his "mean" hip hop style, went to Centennial High School and is a graduate of Arizona State University where he was a member of the Hip-Hop Coalition and studied Tourism and Business. He has been classically trained in tap, hip hop, contemporary and lyrical. Dance has been a huge part of Patrick's life from a young age and he has done an amazing job blending both of his styles in dance into a unique combination of tap dancing and hip-hop, which has opened up many doors for Tapz. He teaches hip-hop and tap at Marilyn’s Academy of Dance in Peoria, AZ, and choreographs for dancers, studios, dance groups and cheer squads all around the country. He is a Dupree Dance staff member and travels around the country sharing his gift of dance with thousands of dancers a year as a hip hop and tap instructor.
Patrick has earned many amazing opportunities through dance and has been a part of some great things:
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Dupree Dance Instructor
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WNBA Phoenix Mercury Hip-Hop Squad
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Choreographs for the Phoenix Suns Entertainment
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Dancing Dad's Choreographer
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2009 NBA All-Star Game Choreographer
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Rhee Gold’s Dance Life Scholarship Recipient
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Featured Dancer on MTV
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Appeared in Commercials Nationwide
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1st Place Holiday Light Contest Winner
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Dad of the Year ~his kids
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Best Friend of the Year ~ Wake
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Michael Wakeford
"Wake" is an Arizona native and proud father of 2 awesome kids. He was raised in Peoria, Arizona, went to Centennial High School, and graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in Secondary Education, Emphasis in History. After graduating, Michael followed his father's footsteps and took a job as a special education teacher, fell in love with it, and went back to school to get his Special Education dual-degree. He has spent the past 15 years as a public educator, teaching special education in the ABLE Program at Raymond S Kellis High School. During his time at Kellis, Wake served his community and students as a teacher, Special Education Department Chair, Special Olympics Coach, Varsity Golf Coach and Varsity Soccer Coach, winning the school’s 1st State Championship in 2008.
Wake's proudest achievement was helping build the RSK Unified Pride program, which has been nationally and internationally recognized as a Special Olympics Unified Champion School and selected as 1 of 50 "ESPN Game Changers" in the Special Olympics Movement. Check it out here...
ESPN Short Film:
https://www.jointherevolution.org/50-game-changers/living-unified
Article:
Wake has presented at numerous Special Olympics Conferences across the country and in Canada and continues to be an ambassador for Unified Culture and the Inclusion Revolution in hopes to inspire love, growth, acceptance and a more unified society. We are able.
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Wake, with the support and hard work of an amazing team around him, received the following awards for his work in public education:
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Whataburger Hometown Hero Award - 2019
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PUSD Raymond S Kellis Leadership in Teaching Award - 2019
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AIA Unified Sports Coach of the Year - 2019
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Sharing Down Syndrome Outstanding Teacher Award - 2013
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PUSD Pride of Peoria Award - 2014
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Arizona Republic Big Schools Soccer Coach of the Year - 2008
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AIA 4A Soccer Coach of the Year - 2008
- Peoria Rotary Club Peacemaker Award - 2018
Wake had the privilege of coaching Unified teams who competed in local and state competitions every year, and even a few National and International Competitions around the world:
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2010 SO USA Games - Omaha, Nebraska - Unified Soccer
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2018 SO USA Games - Seattle, Washington - Unified Soccer
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​ESPN Film: https://youtu.be/9S4U5Qadc3E
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2018 Special Olympics Austria International Games - Lake Attersee, Austria - Unified Golf
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​​https://www.glendalestar.com/features/article_fe0dadb2-7e3f-11e8-8a64-c3a6481c4b35.html
After 15 years of coaching Special Olympics, Wake jumped on the other side of the clipboard in 2019 and was proud to compete as a Unified Partner and earn his first Special Olympics medal with his friend, teammate, and fellow MAD Dawg, Zack Vernon! Zack led the duo to a gold medal in the state tournament!
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Special Olympics Arizona State Golf Tournament - Unified Gold (Teammate - Zack Vernon) - 2019
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