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Eddie Rector [biography]
Dates: 1898-
Birth Date: Dec 25, 1898
Place of Birth: Orange, New Jersey
Place of Death: New York, New York
Eddie Rector, tap dance soloist of the 1920s and 30's who perfected a new style of "stage dancing," which dovetailed one step into another to create a seamless flow of sound and movement, was born in Orange, New Jersey. He began his career at age fifteen as a pick (pickaninny, from pequeno meaning small, were talented black adolescent dancers who were hired by predominantly female vaudeville stars to provide backup and socko finishes to the act) in Mayme Remington's traveling vaudeville act. In 1914 he performed in the chorus and played the role of "Red Cap Sam" in The Darktown Follies, and then worked on the black vaudeville TOBA. circuit with partner Toots Davis. Very soon, he began to develop his own style of percussive stepping, dancing the cakewalk at Coney Island and the Charleston at the Roseland Ballroom.
By 1916, he worked up to his own specialty dance in Darktown Follies where he was featured in a smooth military routine. Billed as "The Boy in Gray," he wore a top hat and tails-- everything was pearl gray, even his spats-- and performed his waltz clog routine across the stage and back. In Dixie to Broadway (1924) he introduced the "Bambalina," a traveling time step that used the whole body and emphasized clean and precise footwork. The "Bambalina," as demonstrated by Baby Laurence, began with a military cramp roll, and then moved forward with a paddle-and-roll and scuff that dovetailed into a break that slapped the foot on the floor. The step had to be done leaning the body in the line of direction, allowing for the feet to cross over and back, never missing the opportunity to make a beat. Graceful and impeccably dressed, he traveled across the stage to make every motion a beautiful picture. He was also famous for his Sand dance and Waltz Clog, and was credited with inventing the Slap step.
In the 1920s Rector toured with his wife Grace, and then teamed with Ralph Cooper at New York's Connie's Inn, dancing a military precision-drill routine to the tune of "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers," moving around the entire stage instead of staying stationary to concentrate on foot work. He eventually replaced Bill Robinson in the international tour of Blackbirds of 1928. When he returned to the United States he danced at the Cotton Club with Duke Ellington, where he originated tapping on top of a big drum, and was a featured dancer in Hot Rhythm (1930), Rhapsody in Black (1931), Blackberries of 1932 and Yeah Man (1932). Rector's clean and elegant style constituted the cream of tap dancing. He set the precedent for the class-act tap-dance teams of the 1930's which consciously refuted the stereotype of the strutting dandy and shuffling clown. He contributed in the quest by black performers to gain legitimacy and respect on the American stage.
[Sources: Marshall and Jean Stearns, Jazz Dance: the Story of American Vernacular Dance (1968); Jazz Hoofer: The Legendary Baby Laurence, videorecording directed and produced by Bill Hancock (1981)]