Thank You, Gregory! A Tribute to the Legends of Tap October 2, 2009

Eight dancers (including Emmy Award-winner Jason Samuels Smith), a trio of jazz musicians, multimedia projections, and live narration combine in Thank You, Gregory! to celebrate tap dance’s history, artistry, and rhythms. Written and choreographed by Tony Waag of the American Tap Dance Foundation, the show’s title honors the late dancer whose career united the previously separate and unequal branches of the tap family tree. “Gregory Hines brought international attention to tap dance as an American art form,” Waag says, “as well as a positive, accessible, forward, and inclusive mode of self expression.” The performance features tributes to the “Kings of Tap” (Fred Astaire, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, John Bubbles, Gene Kelly, and the Nicholas Brothers); “Leading Ladies of Hollywood” (Ruby Keeler, Ann Miller, Eleanor Powell, and Juanita Pitts); “Eccentric Dancers” (Ray Bolger, Donald O’Connor, and Hal Leroy); “Concert Dancers” (Dr. Jimmy Slyde, Chuck Green, Bunny Briggs, and Paul Draper); “Pioneering Women in the 1970s” (led by Brenda Bufalino); and “Unsung Hoofers” (who were often overlooked because of race, gender, or social circumstances).