Ira Bernstein (born 1959 in Malverne, New York) is a dancer and teacher in the United States who specializes in traditional American dance forms such as

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

n-style

clogging Clogging, buck dancing, or flatfoot dancing is a type of folk dance practiced in the United States, in which the dancer's footwear is used percussively by striking the heel, the toe, or both against a floor or each other to create audible rhythm ...

, flatfoot dancing,

tap dance Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its ow ...

, and step dancing. He is considered an authority on clogging, and the leading figure in this dance style. He calls himself a "percussive step dancer who specializes in Appalachian flatfooting," and also dances Green Grass style Appalachian clogging, English clogging,

French-Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the prov ...

step dancing, Irish step dancing, and South African gumboot dancing.

Background and career

Bernstein was born and brought up in Malverne, New York, a suburb of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Three of his four grandparents were of Russian and Polish Ashkenazic descent, and immigrated to the United States through

Ellis Island Ellis Island is an island in New York Harbor, within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York (state), New York. Owned by the U.S. government, Ellis Island was once the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United State ...

around 1900. The fourth, his maternal grandfather, was born 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 on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

, New York and was of German descent. He attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

from 1977 to 1981. It was there, in 1978, that he first became interested in traditional American dance and music. He is also an old-time fiddler, having also taken up the instrument while at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1981 he received a Bachelor's degree in Biological Basis of Behavior from the University of Pennsylvania. Following his graduation, he lived in

Marlboro, Vermont Marlboro is a New England town, town in Windham County, Vermont, Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,722 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town is home to the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum and P ...

, where he apprenticed with Anthony Barrand, a specialist in English clog dancing and Morris dancing. Barrand was a mentor to Bernstein and exposed him to English, Irish, and Canadian clog and step dancing. He gave Bernstein private lessons in traditional English dance styles, and gave him unlimited access to his film archive. Bernstein then lived in the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

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area in 1983 and 1984, while performing with Fiddle Puppets. In 1985 he moved back to Malverne, New York to study tap dancing with Sandman Sims, for which he received a

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

Apprentice Fellowship grant. He moved to Asheville,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

in 1996. Bernstein has performed throughout the United States, and toured in Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Turkey, and Japan. He directs the Ten Toe Percussion Ensemble, a group of step dance soloists, and has been a member of the Mill Creek Cloggers, Fiddle Puppets, Marlboro Morris and Sword, American Tap Dance Orchestra, and The Vanaver Caravan. He was a guest soloist with Rhythm in Shoes and was the lead soloist in the show '' Rhythms of the Celts'', which ran for six weeks at the Waterfront Theatre in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. He has frequently performed with the old-time musician Riley Baugus, with the duo show Appalachian Roots. He was the co-creator and co-artistic director of ''Mountain Legacy'', a large-scale stage show of Appalachian clogging and related percussive step dance styles. The show, which was advertised as "America's response to

Riverdance ''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions J ...

!", had a successful, weekend run at the Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville. Bernstein won first place at the Mount Airy Fiddler's Convention old-time flatfoot dance competition (in 1989, 1991, 1994, 1997, and 2005). He has also won awards at the Old Fiddler's Convention in

Galax, Virginia Galax is an independent city in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,720. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Galax with neighboring Carroll County for statisti ...

, and at the Appalachian String Band Music Festival in Clifftop, Fayette County, West Virginia (first place in 2000, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010).

Books

*1984 - ''American Clogging Steps and Notation'' *1992 - ''Appalachian Clogging and Flatfooting Steps''

Discography

*1988 - ''Ira Bernstein: Ten Toe Percussion: Clog, Tap, and Step Dancing '' (Global Village Music, C-307) *2002 - ''Appalachian Roots: Ira Bernstein and Riley Baugus'' (Yodel-Ay-Hee, CD-0046)

Films

*1988 - ''The Ten Toe Percussion Ensemble in Concert'' (concert performance) *1989 - ''

Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is produced by the PBS member statio ...

'': ''Dance in America'': ''Tap Dance in America with

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 ...

'' (

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

) *1994 - ''Ira Bernstein LIVE! at the Alte Oper'' (concert performance) *1996 - ''Flatfooting Workshop'' (instructional) *2002 - ''Ira Bernstein Live and Un-Cut from the Pardoe Theatre'' (concert performance)

References

External links

Ira Bernstein official site

Appalachian Roots site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernstein, Ira American male dancers American tap dancers 1959 births People from Malverne, New York Musicians from Asheville, North Carolina University of Pennsylvania alumni Appalachian old-time fiddlers Jewish American musicians American people of Russian-Jewish descent People from Marlboro, Vermont Living people Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences 21st-century American Jews