The Flo-Bert Award honors "outstanding figures in the field of

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 ...

".Egan, Bill
Flo-Bert Awards
florencemills.com

History

Named for eminent African-American performers

Florence Mills Florence Mills (born Florence Winfrey; January 25, 1896 – November 1, 1927), billed as the "Queen of Happiness", was an American cabaret singer, dancer, and comedian. Life and career Florence Mills (Florence Winfrey) was born a daughter of for ...

and

Bert Williams Bert Williams (November 12, 1874 – March 4, 1922) was a Bahamian-born American entertainer, one of the pre-eminent entertainers of the Vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. He is credited as being ...

,1999 Show review
/ref> the awards began in 1991. Flo-Bert, Ltd, the non-profit organization that makes the selections, was founded by historian and researcher Delilah Jackson in 1989. The organization is sponsored by the

New York Foundation for the Arts The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an independent 501(c)(3) charity, funded through government, foundation, corporate, and individual support, established in 1971. It is part of a network of national not-for-profit arts organizations ...

. The Flo-Bert Award is given annually. Honorees include

Gregory Hines Gregory Oliver Hines (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American dancer, actor, choreographer, and singer. He is one of the most celebrated tap dancers of all time. As an actor, he is best known for '' Wolfen'' (1981), '' The Cotton C ...

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

Savion Glover Savion Glover (born November 19, 1973) is an American tap dancer, actor, and choreographer. Early life The youngest of three sons, Glover was born to a white father, who left the family before he was born, and a black mother. Glover's great grand ...

, and the

Nicholas Brothers The Nicholas Brothers were an entertainment act composed of biological brothers, Fayard Nicholas, Fayard (1914–2006) and Harold Nicholas, Harold (1921–2000), who excelled in a variety of dance techniques, primarily between the 1930s ...

. The award is meant to recognize life achievement in performing, teaching or supporting the art of tap dance. The organization holds an awards show, The Tap Extravaganza. It is produced by The New York Committee to Celebrate

National Tap Dance Day National Tap Dance Day falls on May 25 every year, and is a celebration of tap dance as an American art form. The idea of National Tap Dance Day was first presented to U.S. Congress on February 7, 1989, and was signed into US American Law by Pres ...

Honorees

:''listed alphabetically; year of award indicated'' *Jerry Ames, founder and artistic director of Jerry Ames Tap Dance Company; 2006 *Maceo Anderson, original member of The Four Step Brothers, early innovator of the acrobatic tap style; 1994 *

Cholly Atkins Charles "Cholly" Atkins (born Charles Sylvan Atkinson; September 13, 1913 – April 19, 2003) was an American dancer and vaudeville performer, who later became noted as the house choreographer for the various artists on the Motown label. Biogr ...

, partner of Charles "Honi" Coles;

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

choreographer; 1993 *Bob Audy; 2007 *Jean Bach; 2008 * Clayton "Peg Leg" Bates; 1991 *John Bedford; 2006American Spirit Dance Company
Oklahoma City University *

Phil Black Phil Black is an Australian CNN International freelance reporter, based in London. Black joined CNN in April 2007 and covers stories around Europe. In 2008 he was part of CNN's team covering the Russian-Georgian conflict, which broke out over sepa ...

; 1996 *Bunny Briggs; 1999 * Ernest "Brownie" Brown, member of the Hoofer's Club, original member of The Original Copasetics, half of vaudeville duo Cook and Brown; 2003 *Brenda Bufalino, creator and choreographer for the American and International Tap Dance Orchestras; 1999 *

, dancer and bandleader; 1992 *

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...

; 1991 *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 ...

Girls; 1992 *Harold Cromer, Stumpy of the tap team

Stump and Stumpy Stump and Stumpy were a tap dance/comedy/acting duo popular from the mid-1930s to the 1950s, consisting of James "Stump" Cross, and either Eddie Hartman or Harold J. Cromer as "Stumpy". Their act was mostly jazz tap, and comedy expressed through s ...

; 2005 *

Stanley Donen Stanley Donen ( ; April 13, 1924 – February 21, 2019) was an American film director and choreographer whose most celebrated works are '' On the Town,'' (1949) and ''Singin' in the Rain'' (1952), both of which he co-directed with Gene Kell ...

, film director (''Singing in the Rain'', ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers''); 2003 * Paul Draper, partner of

Larry Adler Lawrence Cecil Adler (February 10, 1914 – August 6, 2001) was an American harmonica player. Known for playing major works, he played compositions by George Gershwin, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Malcolm Arnold, Darius Milhaud and Arthur Benjamin. ...

; 1993 *

Arthur Duncan Arthur Duncan (born September 25, 1933) is an American tap dancer, also called an "Entertainer's Entertainer,"“About the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame: Biographies,” American Tap Dance Foundation, accessed April 27, 2022. known for hi ...

; 2004 *

Mercedes Ellington Mercedes may refer to: People * Mercedes (name), a Spanish feminine name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or last name Automobile-related * Mercedes (marque), the pre-1926 brand name of German automobile m ...

, choreographer, dancer, producer; first black member of the

June Taylor Dancers Marjorie June Taylor (December 14, 1917 – May 16, 2004) was an American choreographer, best known as the founder of the June Taylor Dancers, who were featured on Jackie Gleason's various television variety programs. Early life and career Taylo ...

, granddaughter of

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

; 2009 *

, star of '' Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk''; 2000 *Yvette Glover, mother of Savion Glover; 2007 *Jane Goldberg, tap performer and historian; 2002 *

Chuck Green Charles Green (November 6, 1919 – March 7, 1997) was an American tap dancer. Green was born in Fitzgerald, Georgia. He would stick bottle caps on his bare feet as a child and tap dance on the sidewalk for money. He won third place in a dance ...

; 1991 *Ralph Guild; 2006 *

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

, musician; 1995 *

Barry Harris Barry Doyle Harris (December 15, 1929 – December 8, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. He was an exponent of the bebop style. Life and career Harris was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December ...

, pianist, composer and teacher; 1998 * George Hillman; 1991 *

, brother of Maurice Hines; 1998 *

Maurice Hines Maurice Robert Hines Jr. (born December 13, 1943) is an American actor, director, singer, and choreographer. He is the older brother of dancer Gregory Hines. Life and career Hines was born in 1943 in New York City to a Catholic couple, Alma Iola ( ...

, brother of Gregory Hines; 2008 *

Milt Hinton Milton John Hinton (June 23, 1910 – December 19, 2000) was an American double bassist and photographer. Regarded as the Dean of American jazz bass players, his nicknames included "Sporty" from his years in Chicago, "Fump" from his time on the ...

, jazz bassist; 1997 *Melba Huber; 1996 * Delilah Jackson, founded Flo-Bert, Ltd. and the Flo-Bert Awards; 2001 *

; 1994 *Sali Ann Kriegsman; 1997Women in Tap biographies
, Jazz Tap Ensemble. *

Mable Lee Mable Lee (August 2, 1921 – February 7, 2019), sometimes spelled Mabel Lee, was an American jazz tap dancer, singer, and entertainer. Lee appeared on Broadway, at the Apollo Theater, and was known as "Queen of the Soundies" due to her numerous ...

, singer-dancer, one of the original Apollo Girls; 2004 *Jeni LeGon, member of the

Whitman Sisters The Whitman Sisters were four African-American sisters who were stars of Black Vaudeville. They ran their own performing touring company for over forty years from 1900 to 1943, becoming the longest-running and best-paid act on the T.O.B.A. circu ...

; 2001Cockerille Livingston, Lili
"National tap dance treasures honored"
''Dance Magazine'', February 2002. *

Henry LeTang Henry LeTang (June 19, 1915April 26, 2007) was an American theatre, film, and television choreographer and a dance instructor. Biography Born in the Harlem neighbourhood of Manhattan, LeTang was the second son of Clarence, born in Dominica, a ...

, taught Gregory Hines; choreographer of the movies ''Tap'' and ''The Cotton Club'', Broadway plays ''Eubie'', ''Black and Blue'' and ''Sophisticated Ladies''; 1995 *Bernard Manners; 1991 *

Frankie Manning Frank Manning (May 26, 1914 – April 27, 2009) was an American dancer, instructor, and choreographer. Manning is considered one of the founders of Lindy Hop, an energetic form of the jazz dance style known as swing. Biography Manning was b ...

, member of

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers Whitey's Lindy Hoppers was a professional performing group of exceptional swing dancers that was first organized in the late 1920s by Herbert "Whitey" White in the Savoy Ballroom and disbanded in 1942 after its male members were drafted into World ...

; 2004 *

Ann Miller Ann Miller (born Johnnie Lucille Collier; April 12, 1923 – January 22, 2004) was an American retired actress and former dancer. She is best remembered for her work in the Classical Hollywood cinema musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Her early ...

; 1994 *Deborah Mitchell, founder of the New Jersey Tap Ensemble; 2007 *Cobi Narita; 2005 *The

; 1992 *

Donald O'Connor Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule. His best ...

; 1997 *Frank Ownes, pianist/arranger/composer; 2002 *

Radio City Rockettes The Rockettes are an American precision dance company. Founded 1925 in St. Louis, they have, since , performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Until 2015, they also had a touring company. They are best known for starring in the Rad ...

; 1996 *

Leonard Reed Leonard Reed (January 7, 1907 in Lightning Creek, Oklahoma – April 5, 2004 in West Covina, California) was an American tap dancer, co-creator with his partner, Willie Bryant, of the famous Shim Sham Shimmy (Goofus) tap dance routine. He was s ...

, inventor of the

Shim Sham Shimmy The Shim Sham Shimmy, Shim Sham or just Sham originally is a particular tap dance routine and is regarded as tap dance's national anthem. For today's swing dancers, it is a line dance. History In the late 1920s, when Leonard Reed and Willie Bry ...

; 2000 *

LaVaughn Robinson LaVaughn Robinson (born LaVaughn Evett) (February 9, 1927 – January 22, 2008) was an American tap dancer, choreographer, and teacher. A virtuoso tap dancer, Robinson perfected a high speed, low to the ground, a cappella style of dance t ...

; 2005 *Jo Rowan; 2006 * The Silver Belles; 1992 *

Randy Skinner Randy Skinner is an American dancer, director and choreographer, primarily for the stage. He has been nominated four times for Tony Awards, three times for Drama Desk Awards, and four times for Outer Critics Circle Awards for choreography. Ear ...

; 2010 *

Jimmy Slyde James Titus Godbolt (October 2, 1927 – May 16, 2008), known professionally as Jimmy Slyde and also as the "King of Slides", was an American tap dancer known for his innovative tap style mixed with jazz. Slyde was a popular rhythm tap dancer i ...

; 1991 *Prince Spencer, one of the Four Step Brothers; 2009 *Peggy Spina; 2008 *

Bross Townsend Bross Elvie Townsend, Jr. (October 18, 1933 – May 12, 2003) was an American jazz and blues pianist. Townsend was born in Princeton, Kentucky. His father was also a pianist, and started his son on the instrument at age seven. Townsend moved to C ...

, pianist; 1996 *

Tommy Tune Thomas James Tune (born February 28, 1939) is an American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer. Over the course of his career, he has won ten Tony Awards, the National Medal of Arts, and a star on the Hollywood Wal ...

; 2003 *

Dianne Walker Dianne Walker (born March 8, 1951), also known as Lady Di, is an American tap dancer. Her thirty-year career spans Broadway, television, film, and international dance concerts. Walker is the Artistic Director of TapDancin, Inc. in Boston, Massa ...

; 2003 *

George Wein George Wein (October 3, 1925 – September 13, 2021) was an American jazz promoter, pianist, and producer.

, originator of the

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

; 2004 *Ruth Williams, founder of the Ruth Williams Dance Studio 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), ...

; 1996 *Heather Cornell, co-founder of Manhattan Tap; 2012

Notes

{{reflist

External links

Flo-Bert Awards
by Bill Egan at florencemills.com Awards established in 1991 Dance awards Tap dance 1991 establishments in New York City