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The Music Center's Study Guide to the Performing Arts

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The Music Center's Study Guide to the Performing Arts DANCE TRADITIONAL ARTISTIC PERCEPTION (AP) ® CLASSICAL CREATIVE EXPRESSION (CE) Artsource CONTEMPORARY HISTORICAL & CULTURAL CONTEXT (H/C) The Music Center’s Study Guide to the Performing Arts EXPERIMENTAL AESTHETIC VALUING (AV) MULTI-MEDIA CONNECT, RELATE & APPLY (CRA) ENDURING FREEDOM & THE POWER THE HUMAN TRANSFORMATION VALUES OPPRESSION OF NATURE FAMILY Title of Work: About the Artwork: Scientific Rhythm (Tap Improvisation) Bill Robinson, the legendary ‘buck’ dancer, fascinated Creator: and inspired Eddie Brown. One day Robinson held Producer: Rhapsody In Taps an audition and Eddie, a young teenager at the time, Dance artist: Eddie Brown (1918-1995) prepared himself for it by learning an original Background Information: Robinson routine. He did this by purchasing a record Eddie Brown didn’t set routines, he improvised. He did of Ain’t Misbehavin’ which had a special arrangement his dancing in the moment - for that one instant when featuring Robinson’s tapping. Brown played the the idea came to him. He stated, “Inspiration is what it’s recording over and over on an old gramophone slowing all about.” Creating, performing and teaching tap dancing it down so he could hear every tap. He attended for more than 60 years, he achieved the highest level of many performances of his idol to observe the structure of excellence through perseverance, self-discipline and the steps in order to duplicate them. When he auditioned drive. Raised in Omaha, Nebraska, he was the seventh the piece, Robinson was absolutely amazed and son in a family of nine boys and two girls. Although Eddie Brown got the job, but his parents felt he most of his brothers were musicians and dancers, he was wasn’t old enough to leave home. the only one who became professional. Starting at the Creative Process of the Artist or Culture: age of five with his uncle Sam, dancing became his passion. Forms of tap and clogging were introduced by the He toured with his uncle during the summers, but most Irish and the English. ‘Buck’ dancing was a flat- of his learning took place on the street corners of his footed form of tap done by early African Americans. neighborhood, dancing with 20 to 30 other hoofers. In Bill (Bojangles) Robinson took ‘Buck’ to the balls of these daily sessions, each person would jump in and the feet and John Bubbles, another tap dance pioneer, perform, working off each other’s ideas. Brown began introduced ‘rhythm’ dancing by dropping the heel with ‘buck’ dancing, progressed to ‘rhythm’ dancing and cutting the tempo in half so and finally developed his own style, called ‘scientific that more taps could be done with- rhythm.’ He gave it that name because you could hear in each bar. Every tap dancer the rhythm, but couldn’t see the movement which develops his own style, performing created it. His career began with the Bill Robinson similar steps in different ways. Revue at New York’s Apollo Theatre during the 1930s Audiences found Mr. Brown’s style and he appeared with Billie Holiday and Joe Turner at mysterious because they couldn’t the Savoy, as well as with jazz greats Dizzy Gillespie, determine how he made his sounds. Count Basie and Duke Ellington. He taught and Photo: Philip Channing performed internationally and was featured with “The mistakes turn N. Y. Rhapsody In Taps, a Los Angeles-based dance company into new and better ideas.” Eddie Brown under the artistic direction of Linda Sohl-Ellison. California Nebraska.
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