According to one jazz dance source, Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson was the chief instigator for getting tap dance "up on its toes." Early forms of tap, including the familiar "buck and wing", contained a flat-footed style, while Robinson performed on the balls of his feet with a shuffle-tap style that allowed him more improvisation. It obviously got him noticed and it certainly made him a legend.
Born Luther Robinson in Richmond, Virginia, on May 25,...
More
Just Around the Corner
As Samuel G. Henshaw
Stormy Weather
As Bill Williamson
The Littlest Rebel
As Uncle Billy
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
As Aloysius
One Mile from Heaven
As Officer Joe Dudley
The Big Broadcast of 1936
As Specialty
King for a Day
As Bill Green
Hooray for Love
As Bill Robinson
Dixiana
As Specialty Dancer
In Old Kentucky
As Greyboy
The Harlem Renaissance
As Self (archive footage)
Road Demon
As Zephyr
Let's Scuffle
As HImself
Harlem Is Heaven
As Bill
The Little Colonel
As Walker
Up the River
As Memphis Jones
Dancetime Tap Dance History
That's Dancing!
By an Old Southern River
As Self
The Ed Sullivan Show
As Self - Dancer