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Andrew Morley

Tap Take Home Test

Semester 3

1. Choose one tap dancer from the vaudeville era and provide a personal profile with a brief

description of their contribution to tap dancin.

!ill !o"anles #obinson was a tap dancer who was known for creatin new steps$ most

famously his %stair dance&$ which he claimed to have come up with in the moment while

receivin honours from the 'in of (nland. )pon arrival$ he danced up the stairs to reach the'in at the top of the stairs. This became one of his most famous dances. He was also the first

black man to appear on screen dancin with a white irl. This irl was youn Shirley Temple$ in

The *ittle Colonel +1,3-. #obinson was successful in overcomin the racism he facedthrouhout his career.. That dance is referenced when he dances with Temple in The *ittle

Colonel. He also starred in the movie musical Stormy /eather$ the first film musical with an all

black cast in 1,03$ which was loosely based on #obinsons own life. !ill %!o"anles& #obinson

was such an important contributor to tap dancin that 2ational Tap ance ay$ a celebration oftap dancin as an art form was placed May 4-th$ in honour of #obinsons birthday

4. /hat was the main contribution of 5reory Hines6 5ive e7amples of specific work where hiscontribution was most sinificant.

5reory Hines was influential in reeneri8in tap dancin. He would tap to create similarsounds to drummers. Tap historian Sally Sommer said that Hines %purposely obliterated tempos$

throwin down a cascade of taps like pebbles tossed across the floor.& He would alin tap with

current modern dances$ and their format by creatin new types of sounds. Hines was an

advocate for tap and successfully petitioned for the creation of 2ational Tap ance ay. He wason the !oard of irectors of Manhattan Tap$ and was a member of 9a88 Tap (nsemble and a

member of the American Tap :oundation.

3. *ist three famous tap dancers from 1,3;ue is much more visible throuh slim fittin t

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dance over the ne7t 3; years.

0. 5ive three e7amples of musicals$ which include tap dancin$ and e7plain why tap is included.

After midnight: The musical uses black artists to tell the story of the insurence that is black

music. The use of tap is important because it hihlihts the black influences on dance as well as

the influences on poplar music. ?n this way the tap