Walton Arts Center kicks off Black History Month with Thank You Gregory: A Tribute to the Legends of Tap on Jan. 20-21.  Opening just two days after Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, this performance will give Northwest Arkansas audiences a chance to celebrate the well-storied art form of tap dancing and the many pioneers of tap.

The histories of tap dancing and black Americans are forever linked. Though infused with English clog and Irish step dancing, tap origins can be traced back to a style of African tribal dance called "juba." Tap dancing, as we now know it, emerged in the early 19th among black slaves in the southern United States. Since then, tap has gone through numerous evolutions and revolutions. From the acrobatic and satirical acts of John Bubbles and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in the '20s and '30s to the ballet-fashioned steps Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly in the '40s and '50s to the recent ground-breaking offerings of the late Gregory Hines that brought the art form back to the mainstream, the history of tap should not be forgotten.

A Tribute to the Legends of Tap
Prices start at: $18.50-$40.50
Baum Walker Hall
Wed, Jan 20 & Thu, Jan 21 at 7pm

Starts 2010-01-17 Expires 2010-01-20