About the Film
LaVaughn Robinson, a National Heritage Fellowship award winner, was a tap-dance virtuoso on the big-band circuit in the 1940s and ’50s who became a master teacher and a major force in tap’s revival
In performance, Robinson stresses the vernacular origins of tap grounded in community tradition and honed by generations of tap masters, many of whom, such as Honi Coles and the Nicholas Brothers, grew up in Philadelphia.
Mr. Robinson was part of an extraordinary generation of child dancers who rose to stardom after sharpening their tap skills in Philadelphia street competitions. In later years he would credit his fellow black performers as his mentors as well as white dancers like the Condo Brothers from Philadelphia.
