When you think of famous tap dancers one of the first performers that comes to mind is often Fred Astaire. He is one of the most famous tap dancers, performers, choreographer, singer, actor and musician of his time. He will forever be remembered in the industry and his movies will also be written in history.
Fred Astaire was born on May 10th 1899 in Omaha, Nebraska where he started preforming as a child with his older sister Adele. They started out touring in vaudeville but later in 1917 both made it to Broadway. Fred did many productions with his sister but one that stands out is the 1927 production of Funny Face. Astaire had trouble starting his career though and for one of his first screen tests he failed to attract any attention and the studio executive wrote, "Can't sing. Can't act. Slightly balding. Can dance a little." In 1932 his sister met a man and got married which retired her from their brother-sister act. This was just the thing that pushed him to go to Hollywood and break into the film industry where he started off his career and got many new exciting opportunities. ...
Frank, Rusty E.. The first tap Dancing Star of the Silver Screen. Tap on the 'Tap' button. New York: Da Capo, 1994. 30.
Daniel Robert Elfman known as Danny Elfman was born May 29, 1953 in Amarillo Texas. He grew up in Los Angeles until he moved to France with his brother at the age of 18. His mother Blossom Elfman was a teacher and a writer and his father Milton was a teacher and was also in the Air Force. His brother Robert is a filmmaker. He was married to Bridget Fonda on November 29, 2003 and has scored one movie of hers in 1997. He has three children Lola born in 1979, Mali born in 1984, and Oliver born in 2005.
that inspired the people with the music. Marc Anthony Muniz born September 16, 1968, better known by his stage name Marc Anthony, is an American actor, singer, record producer, and television producer. Anthony is also the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. The two-time Grammy and five-time Latin Grammy winner has sold more than 12 million albums worldwide. He is best known for his Latin salsa numbers and ballads. Anthony has won numerous awards and his achievements have been honored through various recognitions. He was the recipient of the 2009 Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) Chair's Award. He also received the "2009 CHCI Chair's
Katherine Dunham led a rich and full life not only as a dancer, but as someone who studied the people she loved, wrote extensively, and stood for causes that meant so much to her. Her legacy lives on not only in the great anthropological studies she did or the important political and social stances she took, but in the modern dance of today. Modern dance, or dance in general for that matter, wouldn’t be what it is today without her studies and influence.
Ronald William Howard was born March 1st, 1954 in Duncan, Oklahoma. He is the older of two brothers. His parents, Rance Howard his father was an actor, director and writer, his mother Jean Howard was an actress, in 1959 his family relocated to Hollywood. Young Ron quickly joined the family business and his first television role was on an episode of "Playhouse 90" and was followed by an appearance on "The Red Skelton Show." He also was in four episodes of "Denis the Menace" and five shows of "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis." (Encarta)
Ballet is one of the world's oldest and newest forms of dance. One man that created new audiences for ballet and mastered the dance to its fullest was none other than George Balanchine. He brought the standard ballet to levels no one has ever seen before. In the world of dance, there have been many wonderful and talented choreographers but Balanchine's work affected the dance world so much that he was a legend long before his death. Not only was he legendary worldwide but also his influenced American Ballet. George Balanchine's unique style of dance created the "American style" of Ballet.
Count Basie, or William Basie, was born on August 21, 1904 in Red Banks, New Jersey. William grew up with an influential musical background. At a young age Basie learned how to play piano, as his mother would sit down and teach him. While Basie had a natural born talent for the piano, his first preference was the drums. After being discouraged however as not making it as the...
Avi was born in 1973 on December 23. He has a twin sister who was born 5 minutes after him, her name was Emily. She called him Avi and for some reason, it stuck with him and to this day people refer to him as Avi. Growing up in Brooklyn, he went to a public school. He was in the same class as his sister until eighth grade. He came from a family of writers, artists, and musicians. "Today we have all that, plus filmmakers, actors, and theater, and Tv directors". (http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/avi) Avi's real name was Edward Irving Wortis according to wikipedia.org (as of September 11, 2015). Avi wanted to be a designer of airlines, but flunked science in high school, so he got help on his English, and it led him
He was born the ninth of ten children to the famous actor, Junius Booth. He came from a wealthy family of actors, so he followed in their footsteps and made his stage debut at the age of seventeen. His acting career took him all over the United States.
Gershwin was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 26, 1898 to Morris and Rose Gershwin, Russian born Jewish immigrants who had come to America only a few years earlier. (Pollack) Gershwin had 3 siblings; an older brother names Israel, though he was later called Ira, a younger brother named Arthur and a younger sister named Frances. (Pollack)
Kaufman was born in New York City on January 17, 1949, his parents where Stanley Kaufman and Janice Bernstein (Kaufaman). Kaufman was raised in the affluent suburb of Great Neck, Long Island, New York, Kaufman early on began practicing his unorthodox brand of comedy, staging a make-believe television show in his bedroom and performing at children's birthday parties from the age of 8 (Kaufaman). He was young kid when he started performing in front of his family and friends. Soon he was appearing on TV, including on show’s called “Saturday Night Live”, “Van Dyke and Company”, “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson”, “The Mike Douglas Show”, The Dating Game and the comedy show Fridays (Kaufaman). He started doing stand-up on the East Coast after graduating college in 1971 (Bromley). Andy spent much time of his career deconstructing the idea of being a stand-up, he loved entertainment and spectacle (one of the reasons he loved pro wrestling) but set out to provide anti-ente...
The fine art of modern dance is like many other fields in that it is based on the actions and deeds of those who were pioneers in the field. These pioneers helped to mold modern dance into what it is today. Of the many people who are partially responsible for this accomplishment is Isadora Duncan. Duncan, often referred to as the “mother of modern dance,” inspired many other dancers to the extent that the art of dance would not be the same today without her many contributions.
Roy Rogers was born into a middle class family of farmers. He started his music career in California with his cousin. He was also in several other music groups throughout his life. His acting career began in 1935. During his acting career, he legally changed his name multiple times until he finally changed his name to Roy Rogers. He has been rewarded with many accolades.Roy Rogers is considered one of the most popular western stars of his era. Born November 5, 1911, Roy Rogers left behind a large legacy in music and acting.
Downey was born and raised into a family of actors and actresses. His father Robert Downey Sr. was a famous actor in the 1960s and his mother Elsie was an actress that helped inspire him to get into the acting field. Downey was only thirteen years old when his parent divorced. He ended up moving to Los Angeles with his father. At age sixteen Downey made the decision to drop out of school and move back to New York with his mother. In the 1980s Downey had his life together and was featured in many movies, such as Baby It’s You, Firstborn, Weird Science, and Back to school. Soon after Downey became a huge hit in the acting career his struggle with substance abuse started to get worse.
Tap dancing is another type of dance that is energetic and exciting. Tap dancers wear special dance shoes with metal taps on them so they can use their feet like drums to create rhythm and beats in specific patterns. The goal of tap dancing is to create clear, clean sounds, with various tones.