Eddie Brown (dancer)

Eddie Brown, was a dancer born in 1918 in Omaha, Nebraska. The young dancer spent almost every day jamming on street corners with other kids from the neighborhood, learning new moves and practicing to develop his skill.^[1] The famous tap dancer, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson played a crucial role in Eddie Brown’s life as a student and a professional dancer. Brown listened to recordings of Robinson dancing and figured out how to dance like him based on the sounds.^[2]

Being Discovered

When Brown was sixteen years old, he entered a talent contest that was held in his hometown. That day he not only won first place, but was discovered by Robinson, who offered him a job in New York. Brown’s parents would not allow him to travel across the country to dancer because he was still in school. But the young talent found the offer too good to refuse, so he boarded a train and headed to New York City.^[3] Because Brown was still underage, he lived on the money that he made from dancing on the streets until he turned 18, when he joined Robinson’s show at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.^[4]

Career

Brown danced professionally throughout the 1930s and 1940s as part of a trio with Carl Gibson and Jerry Reed, and was a solo dancer in nightclubs and with great swing and jazz musicians such as Jimmie Lunceford, Duke Ellington, and Dizzy Gillespie.^[5] Eddie Brown had the privilege of dancing with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, and toured with The Bill Robinson Revue for six years.^[6] The show traveled from New York to the West coast. The show fell apart when Robinson posed the idea of taking the group to Richmond, VA, and the dancers quit the tour because they were uncomfortable with the idea of performing in the south.^[7]

Signature Style

Eddie Brown had a very distinct style of tap dancing, and was best known for his “scientific tap.”^[8] At the time when Brown was developing his style, many dancers in Omaha were dancing to swing music. This music consisted of fairly slow tempos, and the dancers were able to fit more beats into each bar of music. As Brown began to understand this style of tap dancing, he realized that it all came down to rhythm.

After performing with Robinson, Brown danced successfully as a soloist for years and developed his signature style. He was a master of improvisation, and his dances were filled with syncopated steps and complex patterns. The specific style of tap that he performed and later taught to students was called “scientific rhythm.” Brown explained, “You heard all this music and rhythm but couldn’t see where it was coming from.”^[9] Eddie Brown’s natural propensity to hear and create intricate rhythms allowed him to make his mark on the world of tap dance: “A good ear ain’t good or bad, but a good ear is what you need. That’s why tap is scientific.”^[10]

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