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Artistry in Tap 2/6

INGRAM:

What was it about Teddy that made him your favorite?

ROBINSON:

Well, Teddy had so much finesse. You know, he was a dancer that you had to see to believe, because he was unbelievable. That's my estimation of him. I have never seen any dancer dance like Teddy Hale. When I saw him dance, he had a great influence on me because I said, "That's what I want to do."

INGRAM:

Talk about how he used his body and how he used his hands; what kinds of rhythms he laid down.

ROBINSON:

This is one thing that made Teddy Hale such a great dancer. Because he danced off of music like "Begin the Beguine," and he injected his arms and hands into what he was doing. But he wasn't the first one that influenced me. The first one that influenced me in tap was Paul Draper. A lot of people didn't ever see Paul Draper. I used to sneak in the Academy of Music, which was on the corner of Broad and Locust. And when Paul Draper came into the Academy of Music, he had a fellow that used to sit on the edge of the stage by the name of Harry Adler, used to play a harmonica, classical harmonica. And Paul Draper used to dance off of classical music. I watched him. Like he almost brought tears to my eyes when I seen him. I was a little guy. And he was the first one to tell me--he says, "LaVaughn, before you learn how to dance, learn music." Because that's what he did. He was dancing--he was musically dancing. He said, "Before you learn how to dance, learn music."

INGRAM:

Did you follow that advice?

ROBINSON:

No. I learned how to dance. If I had followed that advised, you would have knew it.

INGRAM:

You've talked about Teddy Hale and Baby Lawrence and some of the other dancers that you went to see when you were coming up and who influenced how you thought about dancing. You also talked about Henry Meadows, Hank, being an influence on your dancing. Were there any other people in the area--whether they danced professionally or not--who influenced how you thought about dancing and how you developed your style?

ROBINSON:

Well, my first dancing partner was Howard Blow. Howard was a very clever dancer. Him and I used to travel together. I learned a lot of tap from him because he was so [experienced] in tap. He had it, you know. In fact, a lot of stuff that I do to this very day, I got from him. You see?

INGRAM:

When you say clever, tell me what you mean by that.

ROBINSON:

Well, he had a lot of things that he did as far as tap was concerned that was hard to steal. You see what I'm saying? His tempo was so fast that everything he did, he kept it up in tempo, which made it hard for you to steal from him, unless he broke it down and showed it to you. You understand what I'm saying? And that was one of the greatest influences. Then I met another dancer that was right here in Philadelphia by the name of Bobby Jones. Now, he was the one that really showed me how that paddle went--young fellow and all.

INGRAM:

Did Bobby Jones dance professionally?

ROBINSON:

Yeah. Bobby Jones worked with a team called Bob and Al, and he was one of the greatest dancers as far as that paddle and roll is concerned, that I've seen.

INGRAM:

Why don't you give an example of a paddle? Because I'm not sure that everybody knows what that is.

ROBINSON:

All right. Well, listen, see, when I first learned how to paddle, paddling was nothing but a heel and toe which went [Demonstrates]. You understand? [Demonstrates] That's all the paddle was. But, see, when you talked to Bobby Jones, he wouldn't do this [Demonstrates]; he did this [Demonstrates], front. And everything was so difficult, and you was wondering how he got his feet to move so fast. But I found out, if you practice something long enough, you'll be able to move that fast. You understand what I mean? And this is how I learned.

INGRAM:

So, what does it take to do paddles the way you do them? How do you move your ankles? How do you move your feet, your toes, your heels?

ROBINSON:

Practice. Practice makes perfect. You ever heard that saying?

INGRAM:

I've heard it.

ROBINSON:

[Demonstrates] Practice makes perfect. [Demonstrates] Practice. If you practice, you got to get better--at anything. If you practice anything, you're going to get better. Am I right?

INGRAM:

Well, you got to start somewhere.

ROBINSON:

That's right. And I'm not going to let you kill me right here [Laughter].
INGRAM: What was the name of the first act you were involved with?
ROBINSON: Howard and LaVaughn.
INGRAM: [Laughing] Okay, very original.
ROBINSON: Yeah, Howard and LaVaughn. Howard Blow and LaVaughn Robinson, but only just Howard and LaVaughn. Howard and I were very fortunate in Philadelphia because we came up during the time that all the clubs that was worthwhile working in or dancing in was owned by Frank Palumbo. Frank Palumbo had every decent nightclub in Philadelphia that had a decent stage that ran floor shows. So when Frank Palumbo saw us, he stuck us in his club that was at 15th and Walnut underneath Moorville's Men's Clothing Store. We started in that club with Cab Calloway, and we opened the show. You understand? Cab Calloway liked us. We were young. I wasn't no more than 20 years old then, you know. Frank Palumbo had another club on Market Street called The Click, and he was bringing in big-name bands. He stuck us in The Click with Tommy Dorsey's big band. I mean, everything Frank Palumbo had, he stuck us with them. Then he moved us down to 8th and Catherine, which was his favorite club. That was "Palumbo's." We would go down there and stay for about twelve weeks at a time. I seen the time that--we did like--I would say, like twelve shows in one night because we only did like five or six minutes. You understand? If you worked for Frank Palumbo, he kept you working. And that's what made Philadelphia so good to me, because I worked every week, you know.
INGRAM: Well, at what point did you decide that you wanted to make tap dancing a career?
ROBINSON: When I started making money.
INGRAM: And when was that?
ROBINSON: When I started working for Frank Palumbo.
INGRAM: Okay. And about how old were you then?
ROBINSON: I was like--I had just come out of the Army; I was 20 years old. I went in the Army at 18; I come out--I stayed in the Army two years; I come out; I was 20 years old. And right at the place now that's the Merriam Theater, that was called the Schubert Theater. It was nothing but agents in that building, nothing but booking agents in that building. It was an agent by the name of Bernie Rothburn and one named Eddie Suez. They kept us working. You know, because we were Philadelphians and one think about Philadelphia: Philadelphia looks out for Philadelphia. I can say that because I'm living proof of it. They kept us working every day. When the Broadwood Hotel was at Broad and Race, and was a club date hotel; you could go in there and do a date. During the time we worked Palumbo's, we'd leave there, and they would drive us to Broad and Race. We did the Broadwood Hotel and do a club date and come right back. They kept us working in here.