Alfred "Pepsi" Bethel (August 31, 1918,

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

– August 30, 2002,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

) was a

jazz dance Jazz dance is a performance dance and style that arose in the United States in the mid 20th century. Jazz dance may allude to vernacular jazz about to Broadway or dramatic jazz. The two types expand on African American vernacular styles of danc ...

r, choreographer, and leader of his own dance troupe, the Pepsi Bethel Authentic Jazz Dance Theater, which he founded in 1960.Terry Monaghan
Pepsi Bethel, Lindy-hopping jazz dancer who choreographed the celebratory revue One Mo' Time

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

September 27, 2002

Career

He began his career with dances like the Cakeywalk,

Lindy hop The Lindy Hop is an American dance which was born in the Black communities of Harlem, New York City, in 1928 and has evolved since then. It was very popular during the swing era of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Lindy is a fusion of many danc ...

, and Charleston at the

Savoy Ballroom The Savoy Ballroom was a large ballroom for music and public dancing located at 596 Lenox Avenue, between 140th and 141st Streets in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Lenox Avenue was the main thoroughfare through upper Harlem ...

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 on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

, and worked with the Mura Dehn Jazz Ballet and other companies before forming his own troupe. He is known for choreographing the Lindy Hop jazz routine Tranky Doo. Jennifer Dunning
Pepsi Bethel, 83, a Champion Of American Popular Dance

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, September 6, 2002 Bethel worked as a consultant and choreographer on several shows directed by

Vernel Bagneris Vernel Martin Bagneris (born July 31, 1949) is an American playwright, actor, director, singer, and dancer. Early life Bagneris was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. He is the third child of Gloria Diaz Bagneris and Lawrence Bagneris, Sr. ...

, including two productions of '' One Mo' Time'', '' Staggerlee'' (1987) and ''Jelly Roll!'' (1994). In 1980, his work as a choreographer was honored in ''Celebration of Men in Dance'' at the Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. Four years later, he staged the revue ''An Evening With Charles Cook and Friends'' at

Aaron Davis Hall Aaron Davis Hall is a performing arts center in Manhattan, New York City in the neighborhood of Harlem. Aaron Davis Hall was founded in 1979 and is located on the campus of the City College of New York, between West 133rd and 135th Streets on Con ...

and was a production consultant ''Sing Hallelujah!'' at the

Village Gate The Village Gate was a nightclub at the corner of Thompson and Bleecker Streets in Greenwich Village, New York. Art D'Lugoff opened the club in 1958, on the ground floor and basement of 160 Bleecker Street. The large 1896 Chicago School structu ...

in 1987.

Death

He died the day before his 84th birthday in New York City.

References

External links

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Pepsi Bethel
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Bethel, Pepsi 1918 births 2002 deaths American jazz dancers American choreographers People from Greensboro, North Carolina Artists from New York City 20th-century American dancers