Howard "Sandman" Sims

A former boxer, Sandman (as everyone called him) taught footwork to such boxing legends as Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali. But it was as a dancer that he excelled: he liked to tapdance after sprinkling sand in a box, which reminded him of "dancing" in the rosin box before a bout. He taught footwork to dancers, too: Gregory Hines and Ben Vereen were among his dancing students. Sims was a fixture at the Apollo Theater, where he not only won a record 25 straight amateur night contests, but also where he served more than 30 years as the "executioner" -- escorting unpopular acts off the stage. Sims was a "virtuoso among virtuosos," said dance critic Anna Kisselgoff, "in a class by himself." In 1984, Sims won a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. "I thought I was making noise all these years," he said at the time. "Now they're calling it culture." The Sandman died in the Bronx May 20. He was 86. From This is True for 25 May 2003 Suggestions for further reading: Roscoe Riley Rules #5: Don't Tap-Dance on Your Teacher by Katherine Applegate Amazon Price: $3.99   Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo (Poems) by Linda Sue Park Amazon Price: $10.88 Customer Review: There is a great description for adults and older readers about how these poems are written (their construction and history as Korean poetry). I love reading the poems to my 4 yr old son. He understands the humor or some of them and laughs. My two...   Tapworks: A Tap Dictionary and Reference Manual by Beverly Fletcher Amazon Price: $26.97 Customer Review: I didn't become interested in tap dancing until my mid twenties, and so I figured I would start off with this book. Tapworks has been an amazing tool towards realizing my new found dream, and, dare I say it . . . future performances? At first, I wa...   Rap A Tap Tap (Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Books) Amazon Price: $11.55 Customer Review: Delightful book! We make sure that our child's reading is illustrated with a variety of ethinicities (not every single book, but in his library/reading material there is overall representative mix) and I am happy to say that this one contains a nic...   Tip-Top Tappin' Mom! #31 (Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo) by Nancy Krulik Amazon Price: $3.99 Customer Review: My daughter absolutely loves the entire series. So we have purchased the entire set and it's been awesome. She reads it over and over again! I find these books under her pillow, in the car, bathroom, playroom, etc...Glad she's enjoying it and must be...   Newsfeed display by CaRP

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