A one-time-only gala performance in 1996 provided the occasion to bring together three extraordinary tap artists. Gregory Hines (1946-2003) helped revitalize the tap genre in the 1980s, appearing on Broadway and in films such as White Nights and The Cotton Club. Dianne Walker, also known as “Lady Di”, is a Boston-based artist who is among the few internationally-recognized women in tap. Her mentors included Leon Collins, with whom she ran a popular Boston school in the 1980s. Walker has also been closely associated with Jimmy Slyde (1927-2008), who was born and raised in Boston. Slyde danced with many leading big bands including those of Count Basie and Duke Ellington. All three of these artists appeared in the movie Tap, but this Pillow footage represents a unique record of them dancing together. Dianne Walker and Jimmy Slyde were most recently seen at the Pillow with Savion Glover in 2005.
EXPLORE BRIAN SEIBERT’S MULTIMEDIA ESSAYS ON TAP
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