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While tap dancers Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, and Eleanor Powell were major Hollywood stars, and the rhythms of Black male performers such as the Nicholas Brothers and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson were appreciated in their time, Black female tap dancers seldom achieved similar recognition. Who were these women? The author sought them out, interviewed them, and documented their stories for this book. Here are the personal stories of many Black women tap dancers who were hailed by their male counterparts, performed on the most prominent American stages, and were pioneers in the field of Black tap.
List of contents
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
¿1.¿Rhythm Preserves the Spirit
¿2.¿From Jim Crow to Master Juba
¿3.¿White and Black Minstrelsy
¿4.¿Aida Overton Walker: Queen of the Cakewalk
¿5.¿Alice Whitman: Queen of Taps
¿6.¿Tappin' in Time
¿7.¿Clubbin' in Harlem
¿8.¿Let's Swing
¿9.¿"Candi": Improvised Rhythms
10.¿"Baby Edwards": A Legend in Her Own Time
11.¿Ludie Jones
12.¿Louise Madison: A Dancer's Dancer
13.¿Jeni LeGon
14.¿Lois Bright
15.¿"Pepper"
16.¿"Salt": Little Lady of Taps
17.¿Edwards Sisters
18.¿Juanita Pitts
19.¿Delno Polk Bailey
20.¿Isabelle "Eleanor Byrd" Fambro
21.¿Black Tap: Decline and Resurgence
22.¿And Now
23.¿In Retrospect
Glossary of Dance and Music
Appendix I: A Few More Women Dancers
Appendix II: Performers Who Blazed the Trail
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Cheryl M. Willis's doctoral work in dance focused on African American studies and children's dance. Selected as National Dance Educator of the Year in 2000, she has toured the U.S. and Canada presenting workshops on creative dance, and has published extensively on tap dance and creative movement. She lives in Vancouver, Washington.
Summary
While tap dancers such as Fred Astaire were major Hollywood stars, and the rhythms of Black male performers such as Bill "Bojangles" Robinson were appreciated in their time, Black female tap dancers seldom achieved similar recognition. Who were these women? The author sought them out, interviewed them, and documented their stories for this book.
