A Dancer Who Inspires: Bill Bojangles

A Dancer Who Inspires: Bill “Bojangles” Robinson
“Any job very well done that has been carried out by a person who is fully dedicated is always a source of inspiration.”
Carlos Ghosn
This quote by Carlos Ghosn, a Brazilian-Lebanese-French businessman, perfectly describes the dance legend who coined the term “copacetic”, meaning in excellent order (Haskins 1990: 54). A big reason many look up to this dancer is because he was fully dedicated to his art form and hence a source of inspiration. Bill “Bojangles” Robinson is worth studying because he was seen as one of the best tap dancers of his generation and still is considered to be one of the very best to this day. As a pioneer in the development of western popular theater and dance, he helped
Mills, who was a big admired him Robinson, received tap lessons from him and the two later went on to perform the black-and-tan Panama Cafe. In another attempt to encourage the work of black artists, he also founded the Negro Actors Guild of America, which argued on the behalf of African-American performers. This work did not go unnoticed by the public. It is because of his immense talent, community involvement and various achievements, that after his death the city of New York named a park after him (“Bill Bojangles Robinson Playground”). Not only that, but National Tap Day was chosen to be on May 25 because it was the day of Robinson’s birth. In terms of his contribution to dance he made the movement in tap upright, swinging, and more elevated while his particular style of dance was percussive, had minimal movement, and small gestures. The upper torso movement was relaxed with little use of the arms since Robinson tended to focus on his soft shoe footwork that was syncopated and at times improvised. Like Robinson, his shoes were just as unique with ‘Wooden Taps’ on the bottoms providing an unusual sound (Streetswing's Dancer History Archives). Audiences loved the light on his feet, rhythmic quality of his style and if all that wasn’t
He didn’t have a dance teacher or instructor to help him. He learned all that he did because he was committed and unwavering with a solid resolve. He was ambitious ad went solo which was unheard of for a black person at the time. Robinson himself even said, “What success I achieved in the theater is due to the fact that I have always worked just as hard when there were ten people in the house as when there were thousands. Just as hard in Springfield, Illinois, as on Broadway.” ("Bill Robinson" IMDb) All that he achieved was done with a great deal of effort. He loved dance so much that he put up with the constant obstacles that were constantly trying to stop him and slow him down. He fought racism and discrimination which were the most common reasons for the lack of roles he received and he grappled with a gambling addiction for a large part of his life. He was also very generous and died poor in New York on November 25, 1949, despite the fact that he was making $6,600 a week for at least one year. While part of this was because of his gambling problem it was also because he gave a good portion of his earnings to