Tradition In Tap Presents Continuing Education Harold Cromer Honored and Recognized for a Career in Dance
Dance schools and studios cause dance to survive. Dance teachers and dance students want and need continuing education. They feed the many workshops, festivals and conventions that keeps dance alive and vibrant. For many attendees, the workshops are their vacations. Nearly all the now elder hoofers taught classes at dancing schools when they were not performing. While many learned to dance on the streets, as their careers developed, dancing schools/studios emerged, and the development and passing on of their craft moved from the streets to the studios, where the hoofers could be paid for passing on their knowledge and skills. Many established their own schools...Honi Coles, Jeni LeGon, Maceo Anderson, Henry LeTang.
There are many reasons tap dancers and teachers attend workshops, festivals and conventions. Each teacher has particular needs for the success of their school and those needs vary with their growth and changing demands. Some need advanced dance material; others need intermediate and beginning level techniques and materials. Some want to learn more terminology. Some need knowledge of business and set-up and management of their organizations. Successfully running studios is important to their survival, and workshops, festivals and conventions can provide a wealth of important knowledge and resources.
Others want to know more history, so history panels and video presentations are often included in the various gatherings. Teachers want to share this information with their students. Often special friends and honorees show up for the panels and provide personal histories. In the tap community, there is a spirit of sharing.
Some enjoy performing, and others simply want to attend a show and observe. Different events have different emphases. Two well known are the Tradition in Tap festival held in New York in May and November and the St. Louis Tap Festival held in St. Louis, Missouri in July of each year. Tradition In Tap offers an informal Participants Showcase. St. Louis Tap Festival offers a more formal presentation at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center of the University of Missouri., a beautiful state-of-the-art theatre that has everything...even stage monitors in the dressing rooms and a rehearsal dance room.
Probably the greatest benefit of the gatherings is sharing fellowship with others who love to tap. Perhaps back home there are few who share the intensity of their passion for their craft. A friendly atmosphere is important and exists at Tradition In Tap, the St. Louis Tap Festival, and other gatherings.
One characteristic making for a great even is a variety of teaching staff. It would be impossible to take all the classes offered, so variety within each of the different levels and areas of emphasis are important. An advanced level dance teacher may want to take beginning classes one year to learn new techniques of presentation and new material.
The 2007 staff of Tradition In Tap 2007 was amazing; it could have been named, "The Broadway Connection." Some of the participants include the following:
Jason Samuels Smith is more than amazing. Always prepared for class, and with a caring attitude, he loves teaching. His mother and father are both teachers, so he knows the importance of quality class time. He danced with Baakari Wilder in the informal performance and the two delivered some sensational sounds, inspiring to all tap dancers.
Broadway choreographer, Randy Skinner, of "42nd Street" fame, taught a routine from the big band Les Brown theme song, "Leap Frog." He set the dance perfectly to each measure of the arrangement. What an opportunity for teachers and students to take class from this tap master!
Rhythm tap master Robert Reed has a vast span of knowledge, from the Step Brothers to the present trends of tap. New York dancers are finally having the opportunity to study with him, and more recently in a special Reed workshop sponsored by Avi Miller and Ben Ofer last February. The Step Brothers' legacy is unmatched; it began with Ellington and continued all over the world in theatres, television, nightclubs and movies. The power and variety of the team created "The Challenge Dance" that still connects all dancers who come together to jam. Maceo Anderson spent much time teaching and training Reed in order to preserve this trove of information.
Barbara Duffy is one of New York's finest tap teachers. Several years ago she taught in Israel for Tradition In Tap producers Avi Miller and Ofer Ben Miller and currently serves on their board. Her classes always represent her love of jazz music. She is articulate in everything she presents and she delivers carefully prepared classes with groovy music. Her background was with the unique combo of Leon Collins and Brenda Bufalino. Her phrasing and timing is jazz all the way.
Ayodele Casel is beautiful, talented, intelligent, and generous to her craft. For several years she performed on the informal showcase and is always a highlight, taking tap to higher levels. This year she presented excellent work as a faculty member.
Andrew Nemr presents the younger generation's take on tap. His passion and love for his art always shows. He has great respect for those who represent the past. He leads a creative and excellent performing group. Like watching the new kid on the block, it is a joy to see this young man establish himself in the art.
Germaine Salsberg, Avi Miller and Ofer Ben conduct tap warm-ups first thing every morning. The warm-ups themselves draw an early crowd for the material. In the past, Shea Sullivan has led warm-ups in another classroom as the events have grown.
Shea Sullivan presented the sentimental highlight for the Participants Showcase: a dancing tribute to the late Henry LeTang. LeTang choreographed the routine to the music "Stompin' at the Savoy," with LeTang playing recorded piano in his tap piano-rhythmic style. It was an emotional moment. Sullivan was sensational and the audience loved and appreciated the tribute. Sullivan was a protégé of LeTang and worked with him on the film, "Bojangles."
Honoree Harold Cromer taught a routine to "720 In the Book." Assisted by Sarah Reich, Cromer gave the students a blast from the past. People remembered his "Opus One" routine from the previous year. Reich shows great respect for Cromer and the elder hoofers and has a bright future in tap.
Cromer was honored for an unmatched career in vaudeville, theatre, night clubs and Broadway. Cromer grew up in New York's Hell's Kitchen district, where he learned to dance on roller skates and speak many languages from neighborhood friends. While shinning shoes and dancing on the streets, a man asked him if he could speak French and when Cromer answered in French, he told him where to audition for a new show. He landed a part in "DuBarry Was a Lady" with Ethel Merman, Betty Grable and Bert Lahr (who was well known for his "Wizard of Oz" role as the Cowardly Lion).
Cromer's partnership with James Cross in the Stump and Stumpy act followed and took him all over the world. His other Broadway credits include "Early to Bed" and "Jump for Joy." He made many television appearances and was a popular guest host at Swing 46, replacing Buster Brown.
When there was little work for tap dancers in the 50's, Rock and Roll's "The Biggest Show off Stars" selected Cromer as their Master of Ceremonies. The American Dance Machine brought Cromer back to Broadway as guest soloist in 1978. Cromer has received the New York Committee to Celebrate Tap "Flo Bert Award," The Oklahoma City University "Living Treasure Award," St. Louis Tap Festival's "Peg Leg Bates Award," and now the "Tradition In Tap Award." Cromer faithfully supports ongoing tap events.
Panel members and the audience made comments. Among those making beautiful contributions were Dianne Walker, Robert L. Reed, Michele Ribble, Jason Samuels Smith, Hank Smith, Rocky Mendez, Sarah Reich, Andrew Nemr, Toes Tironoff, Megan Haungs, Jo Rowan, Sali Ann Kriegsman, Barbara Duffy, Claire O'Donnell, Ayodele Casel, and Baakari Wilder.
Michele Ribble, a close friend whose aunt worked in many vaudeville shows with Cromer, presented the Tradition in Tap plaque to Cromer. Ribble has danced with Cromer and recaptured some of his favorite numbers.
A Participant's Showcase followed at Symphony Space and the following day Hank Smith conducted a video presentation to which Cromer contributed. More classes concluded this year's event.
The dance education of all participants continued through three days of wonderful classes, history, all kinds of information, and fellowship. Each year the event grows and friendships are renewed. Mark your calendars for November for the next "Tradition in Tap" celebration.