Maurice Hines Brings THANK YOU GREGORY to Annenberg Center!

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Broadway star and brother/partner of the legendary Gregory Hines, Maurice Hines guest stars in Thank You Gregory, A Tribute to the Legends of Tap October 6-10,  Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, launching Dance Celebration’s 28th season, The Magic of Movement.

Thank You Gregory (TYG) features an all-star cast of eight hoofers led by Emmy Award winner and tap phenomenon Jason Samuels Smith, a live band, and multimedia projections. This new show, produced by Dance Affiliates’ Randy Swartz, directed by Ann Marie De Angelo (former principal dancer and associate artistic director of Joffrey Ballet), and written by Tony Waag  (artistic director of the American Tap Foundation) pays homage to tap’s leading ambassador Gregory Hines, and the great legends who preceded him.

Under the artistic direction of Randy Swartz, Dance Celebration presented by Dance Affiliates and Penn Presents, maintains the tradition of bringing to Philadelphia the world’s best contemporary touring dance companies.  This season pays tribute to American dance, showcasing the diversity of styles: tap, Broadway, jazz, contemporary, hip-hop, multimedia and dance theater.  Mr. Swartz notes about TYG, “this production celebrates our history, diversity, creativity, our energy and optimism. It is a dance party and everyone is invited to bring their tap shoes.”

Performances will take place on Tuesday, October 6 at 7:30 pm; Wednesday, October 7 at 2:00 pm and  7:30 pm; Thursday, October 8 at 7:30 pm; Friday, October 9 at 8:00 pm and Saturday, October 10 at   2:00 pm and 8:00 pm. Ticket prices are $58, $52, $48, $38 (evening) and $52, $46, $42, $34 (matinee). Tickets may be purchased by calling the Annenberg Center Box Office at 215-898-3900 or by visiting www.AnnenbergCenter.org

Inspired by the success of Dance Affiliates’ 2005 production, The Philadelphia Inquirer notesThank You Gregory is not only entertaining, it’s a lesson in dance history… a great opportunity to see some of tap’s finest.” The show salutes tap titans Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, John Bubbles, the Nicholas Brothers, Honi Coles, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Roy Bolger, Donald O’Connor, Dr. Jimmy Slyde and the Copasetics, as well as  tap’s leading ladies, and especially Gregory Hines, who redefined the art form and influenced a new generation of tappers.  The program reflects the scope and breadth of tap’s genres and timelines including vaudeville, Harlem and the Club circuit, Hollywood and Broadway, as well as tap’s recent renaissance on concert stages and in electronic media. Sections of live and filmed dances showcase the elegant highly-choreographed smooth style of Astaire, Coles and Slyde, the athleticism of the Nicholas Brothers, the eccentric creations of  O’Connor and Bolger and the pervasive percussive rhythms of Bojangles, Bubbles, Brown, Hines and today’s preeminent tappers.  Ensemble sections include the classic tap favorites Shim Sham Shimmy and the Stroll.  The live band features Bernice Brooks (drummer), Joe Fonda (bass) and Theo Hill (piano).

Tony and Emmy award-winner Gregory Hines referred to Jason Samuels Smith as “possibly the next greatest.”  New York Times calls Smith “smashingly inventive.”  Smith (featured performer for TYG) leads a stellar cast consisting of Chloe Arnold (a protégé of Debbie Allen), Michelle Dorrance (cast of off-Broadway’s STOMP), Kendrick Jones (soloist for Tap City), Dormeisha Sumbry-Edwards (captain/principal dancer for Broadway’s Bring in Da’Noise, Bring in Da’Funk), Brent McBeth (of Fosse fame), Heather Holohan (a protégé of Brenda Bufalino) and Melinda Sullivan (original cast member of Disney’s High School Musical).  (See attached bio sheet.) Gregory Hines has said, “I love tap dancing.  I get so inspired, so filled up.” Tony Waag exclaims, “In Gregory’s honor and in his spirit, this production pays tribute to America’s leading tap legends.”

In addition to performances, TYG hoofers will offer outreach activities including two master classes as part of The Artist to Artist Series and two special school performances for The Student Discovery Series.  For more information call 215-636-9000 ext.110 or visit www.danceaffiliates.org.

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About Gregory Hines (1946-2003)

“I love tap dancing. I love my tap shoes.  I get so inspired, so filled up.”

Gregory Hines has been called the Ambassador of Tap. “He did for tap what Bob Fosse did for Broadway and for what Balanchine did for ballet.” (Rose Eichenbaum) He redefined tap for a new generation. He made tap sexy, fun, hip and athletic. Always seeking new steps, he devised a system called Improvography.  Early in his career when tap acts were in demand, he watched Teddy Hale during a performance at the Apollo Theater.  Teddy did three shows a night, but never danced the same. From that point on, Hines decided to keep working on finding new steps.

Hines came from the vaudeville tradition, whereby the performer is working to get applause. Tap Master Henry LeTang, who took the three-year-old Hines under his tutelage, used to say: “If they applaud for you four times, do it nine times.” At a certain point in Hines’ brilliant career, he became more interested in listening to what he was feeling. Once he connected to a specific emotion (anger, sadness, joy), he could dance directly to it and it became more meaningful.

Hines developed his unique style through his own evolution by performing at five years of age with his brother Maurice in nightclubs and theaters around the country, and by emulating his heroes such as Sammy Davis Jr.  He also ‘stole’ steps from Honi Coles, Henry LeTang and Sandman Sims. Hines received multiple Tony nominations for his performances in Sophisticated Ladies, Comin’ Uptown and Eubie. He acted and danced in Hollywood films: The History of the World, Part 1 (1981), The Cotton Club (1984), White Nights (1985) with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Running Scared (1986), Tap (1989), Waiting to Exhale (1995), The Tic Code (1998), and Bojangles (2001).

His work in television includes an Emmy-nominated performance in Motown Return to the Apollo. His PBS special Gregory Hines: Tap Dance in America won an Emmy Award in 1989. In 1990, he starred with Annette O’Toole in the critically-acclaimed USA Network original film White Lies and in the psychological thriller Hit Radio for USA Network. Hines made his network television film debut in CBS’ A Stranger in Town, costarring Jean Smart. He also played Ben Doucette, a recurring character in the popular NBC primetime television comedy Will and Grace. Recording credits include the Epic release Gregory Hines, an LP produced by friend and colleague Luther Vandross.

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Sneak Preview of Performance

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