Sammy Davis Jr.'S Facts on Tap Dancing | Entertainment Guide

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Entertainment Guide » Arts & Entertainment » Dance » Dancing » Sammy Davis Jr.'s Facts on Tap Dancing Sammy Davis Jr.'s Facts on Tap Dancing ADS BY GOOGLE by Sue McCarty, Demand Media

In May 1990, the Las Vegas Strip went dark for 10 minutes to honor one of America's premier entertainers, Sammy Davis Jr. Davis began his professional life on a vaudeville stage tap dancing at the age of 3 and spent the next 61 years singing, dancing, impersonating and acting for an often racially prejudiced public. Tutored in tap by his father, Sammy Sr., and partner, Will Mastin, and advised by the immortal Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Davis spent his entire life on stages, in films and on television. Fred Astaire once said of Davis, "Just to watch him walk on stage was worth the price of admission."

Learning the Craft Davis referred to his tap dancing skills as “a hand-me-down art form" because he was never formally trained in any aspect of dance. He learned by watching and imitating his father, Mastin and other professionals he came in contact with every night on vaudeville stages across the country. According to Davis, he remembered everything he saw, including timing, audience reaction to certain moves and how to direct the mood of the audience with facial expressions and gestures.

RELATED ARTICLES Developing a Style Interesting Facts About Irish Step At the age of 10 Davis first saw Bill "Bojangles" Robinson on stage in Dancing Boston, which changed Davis' whole approach to tap dancing. The Mastin High-Speed Internet in Davis, Trio danced fast and flashy, often exhausting themselves by the end of their California set, but Robinson's tap dancing was relaxed, smooth and apparently effortless. Davis learned about style from Robinson. "What Bill Robinson What Is the Movie "Living Proof" really taught me was that when you're a tap dancer you talk to the audience With Harry Connick Jr. About? with your feet," Davis said. MORE ARTICLES How to Tail Tap a BMX Facts About a Hoedown Dance Keeping it Fresh Things to Do on Martin Luther King, 5 Facts of Salsa Dancing Jr. Day During the mid-1940s, Davis freshened his interaction with audiences in an Interesting Facts About the Chicken Dance effort to connect on a more personal level and avoid appearing like he was What Is the Movie "New in Town" Places to Go Dancing in New Hampshire just going through the motions. In an interview with Johnny Carson in 1982, With Harry Connick Jr. About? Dancing Clown Craft Davis admitted to "digging deep" to keep every performance fresh. He said he realized not every member of every audience had seen him perform The Summary of Disney's "The 12 Dancing Princesses" before, so he wanted them to experience the best he had to offer.

The Legacy Before his death, Davis publicly applauded the fact that young people were undergoing formal tap dance training. He did belatedly acknowledge the practice of warming up and stretching before performing, referring to possibly avoiding his 1987 hip replacement surgery if he'd realized its importance. Davis left little in the way of actual advice, but films and videos of his more than 60 years of evolving tap dancing styles survive, as do several autobiographies and biographies.

References "The New York Times"; Working to Preserve the Click, Stomp and Rat-a-Tat-Tat; Tammy La Gorce; May 2010 Vaudeville, Old And New; Sammy Davis Jr.; Frank Cullen, et. al.; 2007 "Gonna Do Great Things: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr."; Gary Fishgall; 2003

Resources American Tap Dance Foundation: Tap Dance Hall of Fame - Sammy Davis Jr. The Official Sammy Davis Jr.: 1966 The Hoofer

About the Author Sue McCarty, a writer and copy editor since 1994, penned a newspaper humor column for several years. She assisted in her husband's motorcycle shop for 20 years and was also a professional gardener and caterer. While earning her Bachelor of Arts in communications, McCarty began her journalism career at a Pennsylvania daily newspaper.

Photo Credits Patrick Riviere/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

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