Directed by George
Nierenberg
Streaming on Kanopy
Reviewed by Len Power 3 November 2021
The golden age of tap dancing spanned the first half of the twentieth century, but by the 1950s, the form fell to the likes of rock 'n' roll and modern dance. In 1979, a documentary, ‘No Maps on My Taps’, aired on television outlets across the world, inspiring a new generation of dancers to slip on their shoes and tap away.
The featured performances by dancers Bunny Briggs, Chuck Green, and Howard ‘Sandman’ Sims, were a revelation.
The dancers all recount their biographies and influences while rehearsing for a gala performance at Smalls Paradise nightclub in Harlem. Scenes of the performers dancing and kidding each other are interspersed with archival images and film footage of their early days. Also shown are archival film scenes featuring performances by John W. Bubbles and Bill Robinson.
One of the dancers explains that there was no money for dance lessons growing up. Black kids learned to dance in the street from soul and rhythm while the white kids went to dance school and learned to dance by counting.
Watching these men dance is an uncanny experience. It’s beyond skilful – the dance is part of them. They don’t dance choreographed routines, they ad lib the steps in a style that is uniquely personal to them.
The film ends with a climactic dance-off in front of a live audience, with music provided by a jazz band fronted by Lionel Hampton.
Bunny Briggs was born under the name Bernard Briggs in Harlem, New York in 1922. When asked about his nickname, Briggs said ‘Well, I'm fast.’ In the 1960s, Briggs was known to dance with the likes of bandleaders Lionel Hampton and Duke Ellington.
Howard "Sandman" Sims was born in 1917 and began his career in vaudeville. He was skilled in a style of dancing that he performed in a wooden sandbox of his own construction, and acquired his nickname from the sand he sprinkled to alter and amplify the sound of his dance steps.
Charles Green was born in Fitzgerald, Georgia in 1919. He would stick bottle caps on his bare feet as a child and tap dance on the sidewalk for money. He and his childhood friend James Walker teamed up and found fame as the dance act, "Chuck and Chuckles," playing New York's Palace Theatre and touring Europe, Australia, and the United States.
The documentary director George Nierenberg's love for the dancers and their art elevated his film above your run-of-the-mill documentary and into the ranks of dance canon.
This memorable one hour documentary film has been restored and is available for streaming free on Kanopy, through your local library membership.
