The Tap Journey of Amazing Andrew Nemr
Andrew Nemr’s story begins in another country, with no family background in tap. But with the help of supportive parents, he mastered the uniquely American art of tap. Nemr became close friends with the American masters of tap and continues to pass on the art and contribute to it. His story proves that determination and effort can result in the most unlikely results, and that our beloved art of tap is a universal language of mankind. Nemr, artistic director of the tap dance company CPD PLUS and president and co-founder of the Tap Legacy Foundation, Inc., has had an interesting journey.
Nemr’s parents, born in Beirut, Lebanon, lived in Canada, where Nemr was born, before arriving in the United States with their 2 ½-year-old son. They settled in Alexandria, VA because they had family in Maryland.
Nemr’s mom, a school teacher, began teaching her only child developmental pre-school. She also wanted him to have activities with other children, which led her to the nearby Chris Collins Dance Studio, where Nemr began his dance career. He competed, at age 6, with tap solos and later joined the performing troupe that mandated tap, jazz and ballet. “The other dance forms have helped over time and the concepts of learning the approaches to the body have helped more,” says Nemr. “There were seven years of solos, duets and groups.” When he attended the opening night of the movie “Tap,” it caused Nemr to begin pursuing the art of tap more seriously. “They gave away posters and I was drawn to Greg [Hines] and the older guys… Seeing them dance so free was amazing to me. My dance studio was not teaching me what I saw in that movie.”
Shortly after, Chris Baker of the National Tap Ensemble came to Washington, D.C. to audition dancers for the Junior Company of the National Tap Ensemble. They told Nemr his feet were good, but he had no ear. But, they accepted him on the condition that he would improve his listening skills. Sometime later, Baker showed Nemr a flyer from Woodpeckers Studio in New York announcing that Gregory Hines and Savion Glover would be teaching there. He took classes from both. In awe of his heroes, the highlight for Nemr was Glover asking him, “What time is it?”
About four months later, Glover held a residency in Washington, D.C. as part of a National Endowment for the Arts grant. They accepted Nemr and about 15 others to the residency. The group rehearsed five hours a day for one week and held a performance at the end of the week. “During that week it was the first time my feet got sore and I soaked them every night,” Nemr recalls. “It was a springboard for growth.”
Nemr knew he had to have more tap opportunities and convinced his parents to chase Hines and Glover around the country so he could attend classes and performances with them. “My folks and I even went to Houston and my Mom became friends with Savion’s Mom. Aunt Yvette claimed me as a nephew. We also went to Washington, D.C., Vegas, Boston, New York. I was backstage in the green room at the Jerry Lewis Telethon and met Sandman, Bunny, Jimmy, Arthur and Henry.”
The Washington tap experience taught Nemr real tap skills. Glover put a group together of Baakari Wilder, Vincent Bingham, Joseph Webb and Nemr to dance at the tribute to Honi Coles at the Apollo Theater, where they closed the show before Hines opened the floor to others.
Glover took Nemr to La Cave (a nightclub sometimes called the “University of Tap”) and introduced him to Jimmy Slyde. “It was the first time I ever improvised with live musicians and Jimmy was my guide in that moment. I was scared half to death dancing in front of that audience with a live band.” Slyde counseled him to just dance from his heart.
Nemr missed a lot of school, but always made up his schoolwork and did more for extra credit. After graduating from seventh grade, his family moved to New Jersey for a new job opportunity for his father, which cut down on Nemr’s traveling. The family moved mainly to support Nemr’s dance passion. They found a good science and technology high school and Nemr skipped the eighth grade with testing. There were more dance classes, and there was more hanging with the pros. He attended Swing 46 (another nightclub similar to La Cave) where Buster Brown hosted tap dancers who wanted to perform with live music.
Through his relationship with Glover, Nemr developed other relationships with Slyde, Buster, LeRoy Myers, Henry Phace Roberts and Brownie Brown.
His friendship with Gregory Hines was a separate aspect in his life. “I chased him around,” Nemr laughs. “Wherever he was, I tried to be there. After a class, Greg [Hines] walked by and struck up a conversation with my father and told my father he liked me. He had a way of supporting people without taking ownership of that process. I could talk to Greg about anything. That was as important to me as any steps he had ever shown me.”
Nemr believes that it is important for the kids today to gain an understanding of the individual, not just the individual’s dancing. “These guys lived life fully,” Nemr says. “From the time I was little, my parents talked to me about anything and always included me in family discussions. Because I have had such support from my parents, I have kept my relationship with my dancing fairly romantic. I have not had to deal with [the kind of pressures facing] those living in the city without any support. This has allowed me to understand what it is to be a tap dancer. You don’t just do this, you live it.”
Two events served a special purpose in Nemr’s life. He had always been close to Glover, but when “Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk” was cast, Nemr was not considered. Due to the nature of the show, he was precluded from the all-black cast. Although, Nemr understood and felt the group “had real tap skills,” it was a difficult time for him.
“That event caused me to look at my relationships outside of dancing and find a way to deal with all the emotion of that separation and I [turned to] Swing 46. Every week for four years I would try to channel all that emotion. I made the transition from a technical dancer to someone who was able to express emotion. I have come to view that experience as one of the best things that ever happened. I came out of those four years with a different understanding of what this art form is about.”
After “Noise/Funk” closed, Glover asked Nemr if he wanted to do a gig with him in Florida. Nemr agreed and Glover formed a group, TiDii. Nemr was a part of TiDii’s first gig, in May of 2001, at the Cannes Film Festival. The group continued touring for more than three years, during which they toured St. Louis, San Francisco, Monaco and Seattle. Nemr was also a part of “Imprography” at the Joyce Theater in New York City and at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. In 2001, Nemr graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City with a degree in computer animation, so the career timing was perfect.
In 2003, Gregory Hines and Nemr co-founded the Tap Legacy Foundation to build a cultural center in New York City dedicated to the art form of tap. On Feb. 14, 2009, Nemr launched the group’s first capital campaign. As a benefit fundraiser, they showed the movie “Tap” in New York City. More on www.taplegacy.org.