Cora LaRedd was an American singer and dancer during the 1920s and 1930s. She had a driven, hard-hitting, and athletic
tap dance
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...
style that showcased her rhythmic abilities.
Her performance in the short film ''
That's the Spirit'' survives.
Biography
LaRedd was a popular night time performer at the
Cotton Club
The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue (1923–1936), then briefly in the midtown Theater District (1936–1940).Elizabeth Winter"Cotton Club of Harlem (1923- )" Blac ...
. She worked as both a singer and a tap dancer. LaRedd's open sexuality influenced her unique performance style.
[ In the late 1920s and into 1930 she also performed in ]Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
.[
]
Personal life and culture
LaRedd was raised on Broome Street
Broome Street is an east–west street in Lower Manhattan. It runs nearly the full width of Manhattan island, from Hudson Street in the west to Lewis Street in the east, near the entrance to the Williamsburg Bridge. The street is interrupted in ...
, in Lower Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. At a young age, she began performing in the Cotton Club, located in Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
. During the 1920s the Harlem Renaissance occurred. The Harlem Renaissance was an eruption of artistic, social, and intellectual life, often referred to as the golden age of African American Culture in Central Manhattan. LaRedd performed during this time. LaRedd died on March 21, 1968.
Broadway
LaRedd first appeared on Broadway in the 1929 performance of '' Say When''. She then performed as a member in the ensemble for the 1929 performance of "Messin' Around." In the 1930 performance of ''"Change Your Luck,”'' LaRedd played the role of Bandana Babe Peppers.
Cotton Club
LaRedd was a popular night time performer at the Cotton Club, located in the Theatre District of New York. The Cotton Club did not allow African American patrons, but it featured a number of African American performers; LaRedd was one featured performer during the time of the Harlem Renaissance. LaRedd performed both as a singer and as an athletic, and rhythmic tap dancer. Cora LaRedd's open sexuality influenced her unique performance style. In the fall of 1930 LaRedd performed in ''“Brown Sugar – Sweet but Unrefined”.'' The Depression and the repeal of Prohibition caused The Cotton Club to close in 1936.
Film
In 1933, LaRedd appeared in a 12 minute, black and white short, titled '' That’s the Spirit''. The All African American short featured LaRedd singing and dancing to a song titled “Jig Time”.''[ LaRedd's performance consisted of a short vocal song, followed by an aerobic tap dance. She was accompanied by a big brass band.]
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:LaRedd, Cora
Year of birth missing
African-American dancers
Harlem Renaissance
1968 deaths
People from the Lower East Side
Entertainers from New York City
20th-century African-American women singers