Published Author
Black Tap Dance and Its Women Pioneers
Dr. Cheryl M. Willis
20th Century Hollywood Musicals featured tap dancers Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, and Eleanor Powell. The rhythms of Black performers, the Nicholas Brothers and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, were also enjoyed. But who were the Black women tap dancers? The first research to focus on Black female tap dancers was written as a dissertation project by Cheryl M. Willis, Temple University (1991). Black male dancers had lauded several women with the phrase: “That girl could dance her ass off.” A compliment meaning that the women were equal to the best male dancers. Willis sought out these women, interviewed them, and documented their stories. Throughout the history of tap dance, women struggled to gain recognition. In the early years, the performing arena was reserved for men. During the Black minstrels, women, although disguised, performed. By the 1890s, Black females danced on stage in the shadow of male dancers. In the years that followed, women suited in tuxedos danced on par with the men. With the history and emphasis on Black Tap, Willis offers the personal stories of many Black women tap dancers who were hailed by the men, performed on the most prominent American stages, and were pioneers in the field of Black Tap.
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
ORDERS 800-253-2187
Also ORDER through: igotanidea.llc@gmail.com
Tappin’ at the Apollo:
The African American Female Tap Dance Duo Salt and Pepper
Dr. Cheryl M. Willis
In the 1920s and 1930s, Edwina “Salt” Evelyn and Jewel “Pepper” Welch learned to tap dance on street corners in New York and Philadelphia. By the 1940s, they were Black show business headliners, playing Harlem’s Apollo Theater with the likes of Count Basie, Fats Waller and Earl “Fatha” Hines. Their exuberant tap style, usually performed by men, earned them the respect of their male peers and the acclaim of audiences. Based on extensive interviews with Salt and Pepper, this book chronicles for the first time the lives and careers of two female performers who succeeded despite the racism, sexism and homophobia of the Big Band era.
256 pages $39.95 softcover (7 ¥ 10)
110 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
ISBN 978-1-4766-6270-1
Ebook ISBN 978-1-4766-2315-3 2016
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
ORDERS 800-253-2187
www.mcfarlandpub.com
Also ORDER through: igotanidea.llc@gmail.com