---
title: "Post #173399713768"
date: 2018-04-29 00:21:42 +00
tags: tumblr
---

# Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and His Inimitable Stair Dance

[historical-nonfiction](http://historical-nonfiction.tumblr.com/post/173396265500/bill-bojangles-robinson-and-his-inimitable-stair):

> Early in his dancing career, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson performed on a custom double staircase that added drama to his act, increasing his visibility to the audience while amplifying the sound of every step he made.
> 
> “As generations of imitators would learn to their grief, the properties of the staircase that magnified Robinson’s mastery equally magnify the slightest imperfection,” Brian Seibert, in his book _What the Eye Hears_, wrote. “Dancers tell a story in which he had his musicians cut out for three and a half minutes while he continued dancing. After the allotted time, the musicians came back in, cued by a metronome that Robinson couldn’t hear. He was exactly on beat.”  

April 28th, 2018 5:21pm