Being a dancer in New York City has its advantages. Not only do you have the luxury of training with the best teachers in the world, but if you're lucky you get to meet and work with some extraordinary people. And sometimes they give you some good advice.
For example, way back in 1989 I danced with DancEllington, a tap dance company directed by Mercedes Ellington.
I'd previously performed in several mostly non-tap musicals upstate, and a small ballet company in New Jersey, and was just coming back from arthroscopic knee surgery for a torn cartilage (my first major injury). That wasn't fun, but when you're young you bounce back fast. Being a tap dancer first and foremost, I was excited to work with Mercedes Ellington, who was not only Duke Ellington's granddaughter, but a remarkable dancer who'd done it all. I don't know exactly how old she was at the time, but she was someone to respect and admire. She was also very beautiful.
It was a great opportunity to perform in her company. I remember seeing Gregory Hines in the audience one night, and getting to meet him after the show. I also worked with some amazing tap dancers in DancEllington - guys like Bob Finch and George Bohn - who weren't famous to the world, but were brilliant artists nevertheless.
But the thing I remember most clearly is some advice Mercedes gave me one night after rehearsal.
"Don't get stuck in a style."
For a tap dancer, that means not limiting yourself to a particular school, or a particular type of sound. It means a lot of things, really. But it was great advice and I took it. And I became a better dancer for it. Thank you Mercedes.
Tap dancers are always trading steps, or stealing them. And sometimes, we just trade advice, like anyone else. Feel free to steal that bit of advice if you like. I won't mind.
Mercedes Ellington (nydailynews.com)
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