Barbara Duffy (born October 8, 1959) is an American dancer and educator. Duffy performs tap dance, teaches dance, and also choreographs dances. Duffy has formed several dance groups in New York City and has appeared on '' Sesame Street'' and ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...

''.

Biography

Barbara Duffy was born in Webster, Massachusetts on October 8, 1959. Duffy started dancing at age six, taking lessons from Doris McGeary and went on to study with Esther Dolan in the 1980s. In

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...

, she studied dance with

Leon Collins Leon Collins (February 7, 1922 - April 16, 1985) was an American tap dancer. Collins was born Leandre Kollins in Chicago, Illinois to a father of West Indian descent. He began tap dancing at an early age, but he wanted to be a prizefighter. As ...

, C.B. Hetherington,

Pam Raff Pamela Joan Raff (January 13, 1952 - November 20, 2009) was a British-American tap dancer. Raff performed, developed choreography and taught dance mainly in the Boston area. Biography Pamela Joan Raff was born on January 13, 1952, in Oxford and ...

, and Diane Walker. Duffy moved to New York City in 1985, where she became a founding member of the American Tap Dance Orchestra (ATDO) in 1986, which she danced with until 1995. Also in the 1990s, Duffy appeared on '' Sesame Street'', playing a "tap-dancing

cowgirl A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

sidekick." She also appeared on ''

'', dancing with Gregory Hines. In 1997, she was chosen by Hines to appear at a presidential gala performance, dancing with Mark Mendonca and Cyd Glover. Duffy formed a group of dancers, Barbara Duffy and Company in 2000. The dancers included Lynn Schwab, Cintia Chamecki and Pia Neises. The group debuted in ''Speedball'' at the New York City Tap Festival in 2001. The group was reorganized in 2007 and again debuted at the festival, dancing ''423-4323.'' Duffy dances, choreographs dance shows, and teaches dance. She has taught at Steps on Broadway and

Broadway Dance Center Broadway Dance Center is a dance school located at 322 West 45th Street west of Times Square in New York City. It was founded in 1984 as one of the first "drop-in" dance training schools in the world, offering classes in jazz, tap, ballet, conte ...

in New York. In 2013, Duffy was presented with the Hoofer Award from the

American Tap Dance Foundation The American Tap Dance Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose primary goal is the presentation and teaching of tap dance. Its original stated purpose was to provide an "international home for tap dance, perpetuate tap as a contemporary art ...

(ATDF).

References

External links

"BOOM" - presented by Barbara Duffy
(2016 video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, Barbara 1959 births Living people 20th-century American educators 21st-century American educators American choreographers American female dancers American tap dancers American women choreographers American dance teachers Educators from Massachusetts People from Webster, Massachusetts