Gregory Oliver Hines: Tap Dance
Gregory Oliver Hines was a great tap dancer and started to tap dance when he was young.
he was one of the first famous African American tap dancers in the U.S. and was also a jazz tap
dancer, singer, actor, musicians, and creator of improvised tap choreography. He was born in
New York City, the son of Maurice Hines Sr. and Alma Hines. He began dancing at the age of
not-quite-three, turned professional at age five, and for fifteen years performed with his older
brother Maurice as The Hines Kids, making nightclub appearances across the country. While
Broadway teacher and choreographer Henry LeTang created the team's first tap dance routines,
the brothers' absorption of technique came from watching and working …show more content…
He started a jazz-rock group called Severence which sadly ended in the late
1970s. When Hines moved back to New York City in the late 1970s, he immediately landed a
role in The Last Minstrel Show. The show closed in Philadelphia, but launched him back …show more content…
Comin' Uptown (1980), though not a success,
led to another nomination and Sophisticated Ladies (1981) to a third. In 1992, Hines received
the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his riveting portrayal of the jazz man Jelly Roll
Morton in George C. Wolfe's production of Jelly's Last Jam, sharing a Tony nomination for
choreography for that show with Hope Clark and Ted Levy. Hines made his initial transition
from dancer/singer to film actor in Mel Brooks' hilarious The History of the World, Part I
(1981), playing the role of a Roman Slave, that in one scene sees him sand-dancing in the
desert. He followed that in quick succession with Wolfen, an allegorical mystery directed by
Michael Wadleigh that is now a cult hit; in it, Hines played the role of a coroner.
In 1984, he starred in Francis Ford Coppola's film, The Cotton Club (1984).
Vincent Canby in The New York Times wrote about Hines' rare screen presence in the film: "He
doesn't sneak up on you. He's so laid back, so self assured and so graceful, whether acting as
he was one of the first famous African American tap dancers in the U.S. and was also a jazz tap
dancer, singer, actor, musicians, and creator of improvised tap choreography. He was born in
New York City, the son of Maurice Hines Sr. and Alma Hines. He began dancing at the age of
not-quite-three, turned professional at age five, and for fifteen years performed with his older
brother Maurice as The Hines Kids, making nightclub appearances across the country. While
Broadway teacher and choreographer Henry LeTang created the team's first tap dance routines,
the brothers' absorption of technique came from watching and working …show more content…
He started a jazz-rock group called Severence which sadly ended in the late
1970s. When Hines moved back to New York City in the late 1970s, he immediately landed a
role in The Last Minstrel Show. The show closed in Philadelphia, but launched him back …show more content…
Comin' Uptown (1980), though not a success,
led to another nomination and Sophisticated Ladies (1981) to a third. In 1992, Hines received
the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his riveting portrayal of the jazz man Jelly Roll
Morton in George C. Wolfe's production of Jelly's Last Jam, sharing a Tony nomination for
choreography for that show with Hope Clark and Ted Levy. Hines made his initial transition
from dancer/singer to film actor in Mel Brooks' hilarious The History of the World, Part I
(1981), playing the role of a Roman Slave, that in one scene sees him sand-dancing in the
desert. He followed that in quick succession with Wolfen, an allegorical mystery directed by
Michael Wadleigh that is now a cult hit; in it, Hines played the role of a coroner.
In 1984, he starred in Francis Ford Coppola's film, The Cotton Club (1984).
Vincent Canby in The New York Times wrote about Hines' rare screen presence in the film: "He
doesn't sneak up on you. He's so laid back, so self assured and so graceful, whether acting as