Jerry Ames, John Bedford, Ralph Guild, and Jo Rowan, to Receive Flo-Bert Awards
Jerry Ames, John Bedford, Ralph Guild and Jo Rowan will each receive the prestigious Flo-Bert Award at the 18th annual Tap Extravaganza in May. The Flo-Bert award was named after vaudeville entertainers Florence Mills and Bert Williams. The New York Committee to Celebrate National Tap Dance Day will honor these four outstanding contributors to tap at the event on May 28, 2006, at the Fashion Institute of Technology in the Haft Auditorium on 27th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan at 7:00pm.
The four honorees have made long-lasting contributions to tap.
Jerry Ames began tap classes at the age of four in a neighborhood school in Brooklyn. At 13, he began his professional training with tap classes with the great Jack Stanly and ballet classes with Jack Potteiger. Later, he continued his training with Paul Draper and danced in Draper's honor when Draper received the Flo-Bert award. In an interview with this author, the late Jack Stanly praised Ames as one of his best students and loved his book. He was proud of all the accomplishments of Ames.
Ames made his Broadway debut at age 15 in "Are You With It." In 1969, Ames was one of the stars in the original cast of "The Hoofers," the show credited with tap's revival. He co-authored "The Book of Tap" which contains an introduction by Eleanor Powell.
The Jerry Ames Tap Dance Company premiered in New York in 1976 to rave reviews and toured all over the world. He also performed the Gould "Tap Dance Concerto" with symphonies.
As guest artist at the First Moscow International Tap Dance Festival, he returned in 1994 for 14 concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg and an encore in 2000. He represents a major force in tap dancing with New York as his home base. He has taught many master classes and danced throughout the world.
Jo Rowan, international master teacher of ballet, is Chairman, and John Bedford is Dean, of the School of American Dance and Arts Management at Oklahoma City University. In 1981, the husband and wife team convinced the president of OCU that tap, an all-American art form, was neglected and urged him to let them establish a degree program in which a student could choose between a Tap, Jazz or Ballet major. They did not want the art form of tap to be forgotten. An Arts Management degree was added later. Through the years OCU has honored many "Living Treasures." This was always a mission of Jo Rowan and often funded by the work of Bedford.
The tap event of the century was held in February of 2002 when OCU conferred honorary degrees to nine tap legends. Robert L. Reed, director of the St. Louis Tap Festival, had a work in progress to honor the nine hoofers when he became Rhythm Tap Artist-in-residence at OCU. Reed, Rowan and Bedford became a committee of three to accomplish this major tap project. All of the recipients said the honor was the highlight of their dance careers. Those honored were: Cholly Atkins, Bunny Briggs, James Buster Brown, Jeni Legon, Henry LeTang, Fayard Nicholas, Leonard Reed, Jimmy Slyde and Prince Spencer. "The honors were timely as four of the honorees are no longer with us," said Carl Schlesinger, former Chairman of New York Committee to Celebrate Tap."
A junior dance major at OCU, Gabrielle Ruiz, said: "Dean Bedford and Jo Rowan are simply an amazing pair and a team from God. These two mentors have blessed so many people with their knowledge and love. Not only have they been our professors and teachers, but they are also our artistic parents. They run a fast-paced, high-standard department, but their doors are always open for a conversation and I thank God I am a part of that."
Senior student Cliff Fogle states: "Dean Bedford and Jo Rowan have been two of the most influential artists, mentors, and teachers in my career. There is not a day that passes at OCU where they are not encouraging each student to push past their limits to become the best they can be in the classroom and in their daily life."
Broadway has many graduate OCU students and a New York OCU alumni chapter has recently opened. New and larger facilities are being built at OCU as a result of grants of several million dollars from Dr. Ann Lacy, Dr. John Alexander and Edith Kinsey Gaylord.
Ralph Guild could be called the "Tap Dancing Chairman and CEO of Interep." Interep is the largest independent national sales and marketing organization specializing in radio, the internet and new media. What he has done for tap is truly amazing and unique.
When Guild read Alan Lakein's book, "How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life," he asked Lakein to teach a course at Interep. Lakein asked the class to close their eyes and ask themselves what was the one thing they wanted to do that they hadn't done. Guild remembered his mother and sister tap dancing and thought they always looked like they were having fun. Lakein responded to the class by asking, "If you don't have enough time to do the one thing you want to do, then why do you do all those other things you don't want to do?"
In 1978 someone gave Guild a copy of Bob Audy's new book, "The Robert Audy Method Tap Dancing: How to Teach Yourself to Tap" and six tap lessons with Audy.
"Ralph called and began taking private classes two days a week at my studio," Audy recalled. "He continued his classes and in 1985 he built a studio next door to his office at 100 Park Avenue. He began the program for employees to give them the opportunity to study dance and enjoy the fun and challenge. The studio has an adjoining door from his office with a sprung floor, mirrors, barres, stereo, and piano." Employees attend dance or exercise classes during lunch hours. Guild asked Audy to produce and direct holiday Christmas shows featuring employees that continued from 1985-2000. Currently they present shows at retirement homes and the Actors Home in New Jersey.
"It keeps you young and healthy," Guild stated. "Everyone smiles. If I am in the middle of something stressful, I can take a tap class and it gets my mind on something else. You can't tap dance and be thinking of other things. It is a marvelous form of relaxation and good health and is also aerobic. It is mathematical, musical and exercises both sides of the brain." When Guild receives the many career honors, he always tap dances. "If Stanley Donen can tap dance when receiving the Academy Award, I can tap dance at my awards too," Guild smiled.
At the 2006 Tap Extravaganza there will be tribute dances and film clips shown of the honorees who dedicate their time, energy and resources to the art of tap dancing.
Tap Extravaganza will showcase tap dance legends Jimmy Slyde, Mable Lee and Tina Pratt. There will be exciting performances by Rod Ferrone and Karen Callaway and the next generation will be represented by Michelle Dorrance, Rasheida Bumbray, The Young Hoofers(R), Tadah(SM), Andrew Nemr's Tap Dance Company, and many more. The musical director is Frank Owens.
To be a part of honoring and making tap history at this event, purchase tickets by phone 212.279.4200 or on the website: www.ticketcentral.com. For early ticket discounts, call 718.232.1852 or email strikel@aol.com.