Rhythmic women unite: a report from the Women in Tap conference.

Sole sister energy gathered on UCLA's campus in February, as four generations of women descended for three days to keynote, orate, panelize, perform, and give voice to tap dancing women. Lynn Dally, artistic director of the Jazz Tap Ensemble who teaches at UCLA, produced the conference as a continuation of the movement to help recognize the roles of women in tap.

The heyday of the Hollywood movie musical doesn't exist anymore, but if it did, young women like Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards and Michelle Dorrance (who performed and spoke on panels) would definitely be among the stars. And there are plenty of women with great feet, including Austin's Acia Gray; Boston's Dianne Walker; New York's Heather Cornell, Brenda Bufalino, and Barbara Duffy; New Jersey's Deborah Mitchell; California's Miriam Nelson, Linda Sohl-Ellison, Chloe Arnold, and Josette Wiggan; and Oregon's Terry Brock.

During the tap revival of the 1970s, whenever anyone asked, "Where are the women?" the five names that came up were Ann Miller, Eleanor Powell, Ginger Rogers (not considered a true hoofer by many), Ruby Keeler, and little Shirley Temple, all of whom earned good salaries as well as stardom for their dancing feet. Black women like Juanita Pitts, Cora LaRedd, and the Whitman Sisters can only be seen in rare footage.

But there have also been active brushfires from Philadelphia to Boulder, Colorado, spreading through the continent to keep women's role alive. Some examples are Roxane Butterfly's BeauteeZ'n The Beat in the '90s, Barbara Duffy's all female ensemble, and this author's Changing Times Tap Dancing Company in the '80s. Two documentaries that feature women's role in tap were shown during the conference: Been Rich All My Life, a film about some of the Silver Belles, a group from the black chorus lines of the Apollo and Cotton Club; and Livin' in a Great Big Way (1999) about Jeni LeGon, one of the first female black tap artists to establish a solo career.

Scholars Ann Kilkelly and Constance Valis Hill (both with upcoming publications) provided the conference with excellent background through their painstaking research. They named women throughout the decades who have hoofed their way through life. In a keynote address, Sali Ann Kriegsman called for, among other things, unity in a competitive and hungry field. However, very few women in tap attended the conference (the publicity didn't even make it to tap circles) and many of those who did participate felt the undercurrent of competitiveness.

Panels on choreographers, oral history, and a cross-generation dialogue were offered. As in the rest of the dance field, we know there are a lot of women dancing--and even more women "in the shoes" than men. But men still rule the roost.

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This first-time conference set the tone where women wanted not only to be listened to with their feet, but also to celebrate what they did and do for tap.

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