#WayBackWednesday POP QUIZ: Test Your Bill “Bojangles” Robinson Smarts
May 18, 2016

OK, so we know that, as dance teachers, you like to talk a good game about your dance history knowledge, but what about some trivia to make sure? Today we present a special #WayBackWednesday, honoring legendary hoofer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. Next Wednesday, May 25, is National Tap Dance Day—chosen because it’s Robinson’s birthday.

Bojangles + stairs = magic. Photo courtesy of ATDF.

If you’re in NYC this weekend, the American Tap Dance Foundation will present Tap Attack, a free, outdoor performance, at the grave site of Robinson, in the Evergreens Cemetery in Brooklyn.

Alright, it’s trivia time. Answers are at the bottom, but no cheating!

1. Robinson reportedly coined the term                               , meaning “cool”:

A. Groovy

B. Copasetic

C. Fantabulous

D. Crackerjack

2. Robinson and Shirley Temple appeared in a total of four films together. Which one of these Temple films does NOT feature Robinson?

A. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

B. The Little Colonel

C. Curly Top

D. Just Around the Corner

E. The Littlest Rebel

3. True or false: Robinson and Temple were the first interracial couple to dance together onscreen.

4. What’s considered Robinson’s signature routine?

5. Robinson’s taps produced a distinctive sound. Why?

 

 

 

Answers:

 

  1. B. Copasetic 2. C. Curly Top 3. True 4. The stair dance 5. He wore wooden taps instead of metal.

 

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