Cholly Atkins's career has spanned an extraordinary era of American dance. He began performing during Prohibition and continued his apprenticeship in vaudeville, in nightclubs, and in the army during World War II. With his partner, Honi Coles, Cholly toured the country, performing with such jazz masters as Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, and Count Basie. As tap reached a nadir in the fifties, Cholly created the new specialization of "vocal choreography," teaching rhythm-and-blues singers how to perform their music by adding rhythmical dance steps drawn from twentieth-century American dance, from the Charleston to rhythm tap. For the burgeoning Motown record label, Cholly taught such artists as the Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Temptations, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and Marvin Gaye to command the stage in ways that would enhance their performances and "sell" their songs.
Class Act tells of Cholly's boyhood and coming of age, his entry into the dance world of New York City, his performing triumphs and personal tragedies, and the career transformations that won him gold records and a Tony for choreographing Black and Blue on Broadway. Chronicling the rise, near demise, and rediscovery of tap dancing, the book is both an engaging biography and a rich cultural history.
Cholly Atkins has been a jazz dance artist, choreographer, and director of stage acts for decades. He has been honored by the Smithsonian Institution, the National Endowment for the Arts, and many dance organizations.
Jacqui Malone, who began interviewing Cholly Atkins in 1988, was awarded a Ford Foundation Grant and a Guggenheim Fellowship to write this book. Author of Steppin'on the Blues: The Visible Rhythms of African American Dance, she is a professor of drama, theater, and dance at Queens College.
Table of Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Going North 2. The Rhythm Pals 3. Cholly and Dotty 4. Struttin' for Uncle Sam 5. Coles and Atkins 6. The End of Our Road 7. Rhythm Tap and More 8. In Walked Maye 9. Hitsville, U.S.A. 10. Back to Freelancing 11. The Way I Do the Things I Do 12. Black and Blue Epilogue Glossary Selected Bibliography Index
What People are Saying About This
Gladys Knight
Cholly Atkins was our everything.... He taught us how to walk onstage, how to walk offstage, how to move.
Quincy Jones
Cholly is one of the true icons of American culture — an original hoofer. He took social and street dances of the time and combined them with style and class, introducing a new dance genre, vocal choreography. Weaving rhythm and groove seamlessly, he created dance with flair while allowing several generations of young people to stand on his shoulders. Pops put a little dip in their hip and a little slide in their glide. He is a serious legend and one of the finest human beings I've even known. The legacy of Cholly Atkins is one that will be with us forever. We are blessed to have been touched by his magic.
Gerald Early
Class Act is a wonderfully evocative autobiography providing rich portraits of African American theatrical life and the world of tap. Whether as a dance partner of Honi Coles or as the instructor of young talent at Motown Records, Atkins was a major figure in American dance whose story is humane, humorous, and compelling.
— Gerald Early, author of The Sammy Davis, Jr. Reader
