71:(1911-1970) was an American tap dancer. Little about her life and career are known. She was born and raised in Philadelphia, and frequently praised by other tap dancers of her time, who described her tap style as "like a man". She often performed in nontraditional clothing for a female tap dancer at the time, such as low-heeled shoes and "white tails".
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from 1933 to 1934, where she danced in the musical number "Tappin' the Barrel"; she was later featured in the London production of the same show. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Madison performed in theatre and club circuits, and she performed with
Robinson at the Apollo Theater in the late 1940s. It
170:, an American choreographer and attorney, surmised that Madison's lack of success compared to her peers may have been related to her darker skin and facial features as well as her challenging of gender norms.
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listed
Madison as one of the "many many... Black women tap dancers from the 1920s and 50s whose stories have been lost to history" and as "one of the progenitors of art" of tap dancing.
116:. Little is known of her tap career outside of testimonies from fellow tap dancers, and no known footage of her on film or on video exists. According to fellow Philadelphia tap dancer
124:", a top hat, low-heeled shoes, and white pants. Madison's self-assurance as a solo dancer, attire, and tap style, which was light and quick and which tap dancer
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162:. Fellow tap dancers such as Robinson and Jewel "Pepper" Welch praised her as being better than any tap dancer of her time, male or female. Tap dancer
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described as "like a man", were unconventional for her time. Madison also taught Coles his first five-tap wing.
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Willis, Cheryl M. (1997). "African
American Rhythm Tappers". In Friedler, Sharon E.; Glazer, Susan B. (eds.).
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Dancing Female: Lives and Issues of Women in
Contemporary Dance
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is unknown when or why she retired from tap. She died in 1970.
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401:"The Hispanic History - Carry With Me: Ayodele Casel"
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374:"Diary of a Tap Dancer"
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376:. September 16, 2021
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16:American tap dancer
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62:Tap dancer
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