Preserving and Advancing the Art of Tap Dance.
Watch and listen to Baby Laurence Jackson tap dance at the Hollywood Palace in 1967 with Sammy Davis Jr. as host.
Baby Laurence started performing at age 12 with McKinney’s Cotton Pickers as a Soprano singer.
Later on, living in NYC, and frequenting the Hoofers Club, Baby Laurence became Teddy Hale’s main rival.
Bunny Briggs once said I saw a fellow dance and his feet never touched the floor, Yes So true…
Enjoy Charles Chuck Green in Caravan.
The clip is from the DVD No Maps On My Taps featuring Charles Chuck Green, Howard Sandman Sims and Bunny Briggs..
This spirited film offers unique insight into jazz tap dancing as an indigenous American art form.
The spirit of tap in its heyday, shown in rare photographs and Hollywood film clips of the 1930s, provides a backdrop for intimate portraits of Sandman Sims, Chuck Green and Bunny Briggs.
To all dancers, dance enthusiasts and tap dancers, join us in celebrating the Birthday of Dr. Bunny Briggs today 02/26/1922.
Tap Master and National Treasure.
At the young age of 3 he fell in love with tap dance after seeing Bojangles perform at the Lincoln Center.
Performed with all the Great Bands, was the chosen soloist in Ellington’s Concert of Sacred Music in his signature performance of David Danced Before the Lord.
In 2002 Briggs received an honorary doctorate from OCU.
Online – On the celebration of what would have been Bunny Brigg’s 93rd birthday, the Tap Legacy Foundation, Inc., launches BunnyBriggs.org. With a new design and mobile-friendly layout, BunnyBriggs.org is the latest in the foundation’s series of Tribute Websites. A thorough biography including online and print sources, a concise listing of Brigg’s body of work, and a page about the Bunny Briggs Memorial Fund (a new assistance program), make up the information that is now easily accessible online through this new resource.
Bunny Briggs was one of few remaining hoofers to have made significant contributions to the art of tap dance throughout the growth of the art form – from the days of the big bands, through the lean years, and during the resurgence. Featured in the movies TAP and No Maps on My Taps, as well as the often cited film recording of Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concerts, Bunny’s style, technique, and improvisational approach were all his own.
The Bunny Briggs Tribute Website is the first of the series to sport the new, more user and mobile-friendly design which will come to the rest of the series in the coming weeks. Other sites in series include dedications to Gregory Hines, the Copasetics, Henry LeTang, and Buddy Bradley, among others.
About the Tap Legacy Tribute Websites
Information about Tap Dance Legends is spread across a multitude of sources, including print, video and audio recording, and online resources. For some dancers, little is available online. The Tap Legacy Tribute Websites aim to correct that by providing a single source for the exploration of a particular dancer’s career and contribution to the art of tap dance. Thoroughly researched and continually updated Tribute Websites are launch with permission and include biographical information, concise listings of accomplishments, video recordings from YouTube, links to other online sources, and related Tap Legacy programming.
About the Tap Legacy Foundation, Inc.
The Tap Legacy Foundation, Inc., was established in 2002 by tap dancers Gregory Hines and Andrew Nemr with a charter to Preserve and Advance the Art of Tap Dance. With a vision to build a cultural center for tap dance in New York City, the foundation’s programming aims to reignite the oral history upon which tap dance relies upon. This is accomplished through the production of events and resources that facilitate discussion and promotion of the art of tap dance, while honoring its past and supporting its future through assistance and scholarship programs.
The Tap Legacy Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization and all donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Tap Legacy™ is a trademark of the Tap Legacy Foundation, Inc.
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A Tap Master and National Treasure. Started his performing career at age 12 with McKinney’s Cotton Pickers as a Soprano singer.
Later on, in NYC he started frequenting the Hoofers Club, he became Teddy Hales main rival.
Bunny Briggs once said I saw a fellow dance and his feet never touched the floor.
The clip is of Baby Laurence performing at An Afternoon in Percussion. Baltimore, Maryland 1972.
The clip is from the 1950 Universal Short King Cole Trio and The Benny Carter Orchestra were Bunny was the featured tap dancer.
Bunny Briggs was born in Harlem, New York on February 26, 1922 as Bernard Briggs.
Started learning tap dance at a very young age, and would perform it on the streets of Harlem. He performed with Duke Ellington’s Orchestra, and was nicknamed Duke’s Dancer. His well known routine with the Duke’s Sacred Music Concert, David Danced to the Lord with all his Might.
With several appearance on the Tonight Show, Apollo Uptown, to name a few, in May 1985 Bunny performed on the NBC TV Special, Motown Returns to the Apollo.
He was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Actor Featured Role – Musical in 1989 for his work in the Broadway show Black and Blue, and on February 2002 Bunny received an honorary Doctorate of Performing Arts in American Dance by Oklahoma City University in 2002, honoring him as one of the nine doctorates of Tap Dance