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I’ve been around tap dancing in one form or another for pretty much all my life and my little grey cells gravitated towards this topic last night. Interested in seeing the original masters of tap? So am I…we’re talking the ladies and gentlemen who taught greats like Honi Coles and Sandman Simms. They’re long gone…so, we settle for the generations that came afterwards.

Think Fred Astaire is the end-all of tap dancers? Puhleeze! Of the Hollywood stars, Gene Kelly was a much more complete dancer and someone I’ve found to be a joy to see perform. Frankly, I’d put Sammy Davis Jr. up against Fred in the tap department any day. Gregory Hines? Definitely one of the greats, but his involvement in “White Nights” will taint him for all eternity. And as for the current youngblood, Savion Glover…the Tiger Woods of Tap, my ass.

The best of the best comes in three powerful words: The Nicholas Brothers. Fayard and Harold Nicholas have done dances on and off film that no one has even come close to duplicate. Gregory Hines has even acknowledged that simply no one can compare to these masters. Run, don’t walk, down to your video store to check out their films (Internet Movie Database List). “Stormy Weather” was the brothers’ and my personal favorite (The stairs..The stairs).

Must give mad props to the great Tap master, Henry LeTang. A two time Tony award winner, renowned instructor and teacher of such greats as the Hines brothers. He’s also a long time family friend and tap mentor. I always loved hanging out at his school in NYC where my Mum taught for him. He had a very cute daughter too… ^_-