Tap Hines, Gregory performer Slyde, Jimmy (Godbolt) performer Davis, Sammy, Jr. performer Nicholas, Harold performer Sims, Howard "Sandman" performer Neal, Francis E. performer Film 1989-02-10 Hoofer Films/Tristar Directed and written by Nick Castle, Jr. c. 1988. RCA Home Video. Savion Glover (Lewis), Jimmy Slyde (Slim), Bunny Brigs (Bunny), Steve Condos (Steve), wtih Jane Goldberg, Frances E. Nealy, Dianne Walker, Dorothy Wasserman (the Shim Sham Girls), and others. Dance contents: [Tap solo in prison] / performed by Hines -- [Tap improvisation in a studio] / performed by Hines -- [Challenge dance] / performed by Duncan, Briggs, Slyde, Condos, Nicholas, Sims, Davis and Hines -- [Club performance by Amy and the Shim Sham Girls] / performed by Douglas, Goldberg, Nealy, Walker and Wasserman -- [Children's tap class, with solo performed by Glover] -- [Audition] / performed by Hines and others -- "Cheek to Cheek" / performed by Hines and Douglas -- "Can't Escape the Rhythm" / performed by Hines. Choreography, Henry Le Tang: choreography for "Shim Sham" Dorothy Wasserman ; improvography, Gregory Hines; Tap-Tronics concept and development, Alfred Desio. Drama about a tap dancer, newly released from prison, who must decide whether to return to his dancing or to a life of crime. Jane Goldberg, Francis Nealy, Dorothy Wasserman, and Dianne Walker comprise the Shim Sham Girls in this film. The personal and dramatic story of the life of a tap dancer with three generations of tap dancers showcased; roles played by actual dancers and tap legends. To update the dance for whole new generation, writer/director Nick Castle, Jr. (who dedicated the film to his brilliant father who had spent his life defining tap on film) opted for a contemporary story and setting. The dance is set to rock, fusion, and funk music, shaking the dust off of tap's nostalgic image. Tap teams Gregory Hines with Sammy Davis, Jr., newcomer Suzanne Douglas, teenage tap star Savion Glover, and a stellar lineup of master hoofers that included Howard Sandman Sims, Bunny Briggs, Steve Condos, Arthur Duncan, Jimmy Slyde, and Harold Nicholas, who said, "The film's trying to say, 'We've still got legs, nothing has changed, we can still do it.'" Tap dance scenes throughout the film, including tap challenges pitting Hines against the veteran hoofers; and street tap dance finale to funk rock that contemporizes tap dance to a new audience. Performing Arts Encyclopedia http://www.loc.gov/performingarts Hill, Constance Valis: Brotherhood in Rhythm: The Jazz Tap Dancing of the Nicholas Brothers. New York: Oxford University Press (2000). Tap Dance America http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/tda/tda-home.html Howard "Sandman" Sims (biography) loc.music.tdabio.168 Sammy Davis Jr. (biography) loc.music.tdabio.72 Jimmy Slyde (biography) loc.music.tdabio.169 Gregory Hines (biography) loc.music.tdabio.106 tda IHAS 151216 loc.music.tda.14