One of the ways oral traditions are explored is through the people involved. Finding old stories, making connections, watching video recordings, all comes back to the people and their names. Who’s in the story, who used to dance with whom, and who are we watching right now. Knowing the names of the people can help us on our individual explorations of the tradition. For instance, looking through the index of biographies of jazz greats for the names of tap dancers may yield unique stories not found elsewhere. But, we need the names that we should be looking for first. Here is the beginnings of that list.
This list contains contributors, large and small, and should be thought of as a living list of the members of the tap dance community. This means the list will continue to grow over time as contributors are remembered, discovered, and newly recognized.
We want your input! Use form at the bottom of this page to submit a name (of an individual or an act) that you feel should be included. Please double check to see if it is already listed. Also note that as a curatorial rule we will lean towards the older and lesser known. Not being listed here should not be viewed as being less valued in the community.
Names are listed in alphabetical order by last name.
A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z//ACTS
A
Jack Ackerman
Hortense Allen
Jerry Ames
Maceo Anderson
Adele Astaire
Fred Astaire
Cholly Atkins
Bob Audy
B
Bill Bailey
Dean Barlow
Earl “Groundhog” Basie
Clayton “Peg Leg” Bates
Ananias Berry
James Berry
Ken Berry
Warren Berry
Paul Black
Phil Black
Lionel Blair
Buddy Bradley
Bunny Briggs
Ernest “Brownie” Brown
James “Buster” Brown
Harriet “Quicksand” Brown
King Rastus Brown
Ralph Brown
Wendy Brown
Mary Bruce
Ethel Bruneau
Ardie Bryant
Willie Bryant
Conrad “Little Buck” Buckner
John W. Bubbles (also John Sublett)
Brenda Bufalino
C
James Cagney
Louis Simms Carpenter
Cha Cha Taps
Lon Chaney
Bessie Clayton
Charles “Honi” Coles
Marion Coles
Leon Collins
Frank Colvard
Frank Condos
Nick Condos
Steve Condos
Charles “Cookie” Cook
Buster Cooper
Willie Covan
Harold “Stumpy” Cromer
James “Stump” Cross
D
Danny Daniels
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Louie DaPron
Paul Draper
Arthur Duncan
Sammy Dyer
E
Buddy Ebsen
Cleo Ellis
Elaine Ellis
F
Bruce Forsythe
Pop Foster
G
Will Gaines
Sammy Gardiner
Albert “Gip” Gibson (also Gipson)
Al Gilbert
Jimmy “Slyde” Godbolt
Freddy Gordon
Chuck Green
H
Teddy Hale
Louis “The Hawk” Hawkins
Finis Henderson II
Cryp Herd
George Hillman
Gregory Hines
Maurice Hines
Bob Hope
I
Tiny Irving
J
Jimmy Johnson
Ziggy Johnson
K
Raymond Kaaland
Stan Khan
Ruby Keeler
Fred Kelly
Gene Kelly
L
William Henry Lane
Baby Laurence
Jeni LeGon
Cora LaRedd
Hal LeRoy
Henry LeTang
Mable Lee
Willie Lewis
Carnell Lyons
M
John T. McAfee
Eleanor McQueen
Will Mastin
Anne Miller
Jimmy “Sir Slide” Mitchell
George Murphy
LeRoy Myers
N
Fayard Nicholas
Harold Nicholas
Pete Nugent
O
Donald O’Connor
P
Hermes Pan
Jimmy Payne, Sr.
Sarah Petronio
Gentleman Pippy
Juanita Pitts
Eleanor Powell
Tina Pratt
Q
Johnny Q.
R
Fay Ray
Eddie Rector
Rhythm Red
Leonard Reed
Buddy Rich
Jazz Richards
Pat Rico
Bob Roberts
Henry “Phace” Roberts
Bill “Bojangles” Robinson
Lavaughn Robinson
Ginger Rogers
Timmy Rogers
Nipsey Russell
Peggy Ryan
S
Howard “Sandman” Sims
Jimmy “Vibes” Smith
Willie Spence
Libby Spencer
Lou Spencer
Prince Spencer
Art Stanley
Lloyd Storey
C. Scobie Stroman
Tommy Sutton
T
Jerry Taps
Shirley Temple
Tommy Tune
U
V
W
Dianne Walker
James Walker
Eddie West
Louis Williams
Albert “Pops” Whitman
Alice Whitman
Raymond Winfield
Bertye Lou Wood
X
Y
Z
ACTS
Brown and Beige
Buck and Bubbles
Chuck and Chuckles
Cook and Brown
Hines, Hines, and Dad
LeRoy and Sinclair
Myers and Walker
Pete, Peaches, and Duke
Pops and Louis
Stump and Stumpy
The Aristocrats of Rhythm
The Berry Brothers (Ananias Berry, James Berry, and Warren Berry)
The Businessmen of Rhythm
The Chocolateers
The Clark Brothers
The Condos Brothers (Frank and Nick Condos, or Nick and Steve Condos)
The Copasetics
The Crackerjacks
The Dunhills
The Four Step Brothers
The Miller Brothers and Lois
The Nicholas Brothers
The Original Hoofers
The Silver Belles
The Swinging Seniors
The Three Dukes
The Three Queens
The Whitman Sisters
The Will Mastin Trio
Tip Tap and Toe