GREAT PERFORMANCES: DANCE IN AMERICA: TAP DANCE IN AMERICA WITH GREGORY HINES (TV)
Summary
One in this dance series presented under the umbrella of "Great Performances." Hosted by dancer Gregory Hines, this tribute to the art of tap dancing includes performances by a wide variety of tap dancers, as well as footage from rehearsals and informal talks among the dancers. As the program begins, Hines performs solo without musical accompaniment and makes introductory comments in which he points out that tap dancing has been passed on to a new generation. Highlights include improvisational tap sessions with Hines and others; Tommy Tune and Hines rehearsing a classic Coles and Atkins soft-shoe routine, with Honi Coles giving instruction on the sidelines; and Hines dancing with his double (himself) through trick photography. Performing before a live audience are the dance team of Hinton Battle and Gregg Burge; the four-person dance ensemble Manhattan Tap; Fred Strickler, who performs a tap dance to a classical piece, the finale from Benjamin Britten's "Simple Symphony"; Jennifer Lane, Camden Richman, and Dianne Walker, who perform solo routines and as a group with Hines; Hines with an extended tap solo in which he creates rhythms without musical accompaniment; the dance group Brenda Bufalino and the American Tap Dance Orchestra with a dance in which they harmonize their taps; Tune and Hines, who perform the Coles and Atkins soft-shoe to "Taking a Chance on Love"; and the dance team of Germaine Ingram and Lavaughn Robinson with a routine performed to "How High the Moon." Hines introduces the "masters" of tap -- Bunny Briggs, Jimmy Slyde, Buster Brown, and Sandman Sims -- and the five take turns improvising. Fifteen-year-old Savion Glover gives a spectacular performance and is joined by all the performers for the finale. As the program concludes, audience members dance along with the cast to "The Joint is Jumpin'."
Details
- NETWORK: PBS WNET New York, NY
- DATE: July 15, 1990 Sunday 3:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:57:58
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:28187
- GENRE: Dance
- SUBJECT HEADING: Dance - Analysis, appreciation; Dance, tap; Orchestral music
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1976-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Jac Venza … Executive Producer
- Don Mischer … Executive Producer, Director
- David J. Goldberg … Producer
- Rhoda Graver … Producer
- Geoff Bennett … Associate Producer
- Lesley Maynard … Direction (Misc.), Associate Director
- Harold Wheeler … Music (Misc. Credits), Music Director
- John Falabella … Production Design
- Benjamin Britten … Composer, "Simple Symphony"
- Gregory Hines … Host, Dancer
- Tommy Tune … Dancer
- Hinton Battle … Dancer
- Gregg Burge … Dancer
- Fred Strickler … Dancer
- Camden Richman … Dancer
- Dianne Walker … Dancer
- Germaine Ingram … Dancer
- Lavaughn Robinson … Dancer
- Bunny Briggs … Dancer
- Sandman Sims … Dancer
- Jimmy Slyde … Dancer
- Buster Brown … Dancer
- Glover, S avion … Dancer
- Coles, Charles "Honi"
- For "American Tap Dance Orchestra":
- Brenda Bufalino … Choreographer, Dancer
- Neil Applebaum … Dancer
- Ira Bernstein … Dancer
- Barbara Duffy … Dancer
- Lynne Jassem … Dancer
- Bob Kerr … Dancer
- Margaret Morrison … Dancer
- Mimi Moyer … Dancer
- Tony Waag … Dancer
- For "Manhattan Tap":
- Heather Cornell … Dancer
- Jamie Cunneen … Dancer
- Shelley Oliver … Dancer
- Tony Scopino … Dancer
- Jennifer Lane … Dancer