Black Tap Dance and Its Women Pioneers.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Willis, Cheryl M.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African American women tap dancers--Biography.

African American women tap dancers.

Tap dancing--United States--History.

Tap dancing.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (283 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Jefferson : McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers, 2023.

Summary:

"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"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Cover

Introduction

Acknowledgments

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.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Other Format:

Print version: Willis, Cheryl M. Black Tap Dance and Its Women Pioneers

ISBN:

9781476649160