“During the 1960s, there were only two shows on television where you could see tap dancing every week: Friday on ‘The Mickey Mouse Club’ for Talent Round-Up Day, and Sundays with Arthur Duncan with a featured dance on ‘The Lawrence Welk Show,’ ” said dance historian Rusty Frank, author of “Tap! The Greatest Tap Dance Stars And Their Stories 1900-1955.” “These were the days before digital recorders, streaming TV and YouTube, so if you wanted to see tap dancing, you had to sit in front of that television at the specific airing time.” Tap was no longer the dance of the streets, concert halls or Broadway. Tap greats were still around, but jobs had long ago dried up.ĭuncan honed his skills as big bands - which often hired tappers - made way for rock bands, and jazz players - who often made their rhythmic inventions alongside hoofers - moved to smaller venues and more experimental musical forms for which tap dancers need not apply. It wasn’t just Duncan’s presence on the Welk show from 1964 to 1982 that mattered, but what he did: virtuoso tap dancing at a time when the art form had become virtually invisible.
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