Maxie Ford
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Maxie Ford
The Maxie Ford is a tap dance step consisting of four movements: step, shuffle, leap, toe. The Maxie Ford is famous for its use of the pullback (or graboff) after the shuffle and best known as the Maxie Ford Break: 2 executions of the basic Maxie Ford and a stamp: * The Standard Maxie Ford Break (see the Nicholas Brothers, Henry LeTang and almost every tap teacher) * The Professional Maxie Ford Break (This form provides an additional pullback after the toe and was a favourite of many dancers (Gene Kelly, the Nicholas Brothers The Nicholas Brothers were an entertainment act composed of brothers, Fayard (1914–2006) and Harold (1921–2000), who excelled in a variety of dance techniques, primarily between the 1930s and 1950s. Best known for their unique interpretati ..., Coles & Atkins, The Four Step Brothers, Tip, Tap & Toe etc.) Maxie Fords may also be done turning across the floor, such that each one is performed in a single rotation (with or without the pullback)). Refere ...
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Tap Dance Technique
Tap dance makes frequent use of syncopation. Tap dance choreographies typically start on the eighth beat, or between the eighth and the first count. Styles Tap was formed from other types of dancing, such as ballet, jazz and contemporary clogging. Hoofers are tap dancers who dance only with their feet, making a louder, more grounded sound. This kind of tap dancing is also called "rhythm tap". Another aspect of tap dancing is improvisation. This can either be done with music and follow the beats provided or without musical accompaniment, otherwise known as a cappella dancing. Tap dancers often work with musicians to weave rhythm and musical composition, usually jazz music, to create improvisation. Improv jams take place in communities around the world where tap dancers and musicians exchange and experiment with improv. Steps There is no universal terminology for tap techniques and steps. The following includes descriptions of steps that are well known, although the names may ...
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Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessible to the general public, which he called "dance for the common man". He starred in, choreographed, and, with Stanley Donen, co-directed some of the most well-regarded musical films of the 1940s and 1950s. Kelly is known for his performances in ''An American in Paris (film), An American in Paris'' (1951), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, ''Singin' in the Rain'' (1952), which he and Donen directed and choreographed, and other musical films of that era such as ''Cover Girl (film), Cover Girl'' (1944) and ''Anchors Aweigh (film), Anchors Aweigh'' (1945), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. ''On the Town (film), On the Town'' (1949), which he co-directed with Donen, was his directorial debut. Later in th ...
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Nicholas Brothers
The Nicholas Brothers were an entertainment act composed of brothers, Fayard (1914–2006) and Harold (1921–2000), who excelled in a variety of dance techniques, primarily between the 1930s and 1950s. Best known for their unique interpretation of a highly acrobatic technique known as " flash dancing", they were also considered by many to be the greatest tap dancers of their day, if not all time. Their virtuoso performance in the musical number "Jumping' Jive" (with Cab Calloway and his orchestra) featured in the 1943 movie '' Stormy Weather'' has been praised as one of the greatest dance routines ever captured on film. Growing up surrounded by vaudeville acts as children, they became stars of the jazz circuit during the Harlem Renaissance and performed on stage, film, and television well into the 2000s. Diminutive in size, they were appreciated for their artistry, innovation, and soaring leaps. Early lives Fayard Antonio Nicholas was born August 28, 1914, in Mobile, Alabama, ...
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Dance Moves
Dance moves or dance steps (more complex dance moves are called dance patterns, dance figures, dance movements, or dance variations) are usually isolated, defined, and organized so that beginning dancers can learn and use them independently of each other. However, more complex movements are influenced by musicality and lyrical relevance to express emotions or refer to a message. Dance moves tend to emphasize the concepts of lead and follow and connection. In most cases, dance moves by themselves are independent of musicality, which is the appropriateness of a move to the music (for a notable exception, see Bharatanatyam). Generally, they are memorized in sets of eight counts. Also there are two different movements: concrete and abstract. These two movements show time, space, relationship, quality and focus. For example, relationship could describe the movement of two or more different dancers. The names of moves may be somewhat arbitrary and vary from person to person and city to ...
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