Stair Dance- Little Colonel, 1935- Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Shirley Temple
This dance is one of the most important in the history of film. How often do I get to say that? It marked the first on-screen interracial dance. "The Little Colonel" was the first movie in a line of films that featured both Shirley Temple and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Yup. That Bojangles, like the song (not the restaurant... I don't think? That would be weird). "Bojangles" is one of the most famous American dancers ever and completely revolutionized the art of tap dancing. but first some... Dance Background: There are several different forms of tap. They all basically spring from the original form which is now dubbed "Rhythm Tap." Rhythm Tap came primarily from older African-American dance forms and was an almost entirely black dance style. It is highly rhythmic (as the name implies) and was a big part of the development of the swing music style. I will get into that in a separate post. Rhythm tap became a popular form o