In May of 1878, Bill Robinson was born in Richmond, Virginia and went on to be one of the most well-known black tap dancers of the early 1900’s. He was raised by his grandmother, who grew up a slave, so he had the influence of someone who experienced racial inequality early on in his life. He knew he had a raw talent for dance and used it to his advantage to make money by performing on the street and collecting pennies. His first professional job was as a member of the Pickaninny chorus for Mayme Remington in 1892.
Pickaninny Chorus poster
After performing in the streets for quite some time, he acquired George Cooper as his dancing partner. Together they performed on the Keith and and Orpheum circuits, due to the fact that at the time, they were not allowed to perform on the Vaudeville circuit together because blacks were restricted from performing in pairs. The Vaudeville circuit was open only to white performers and provided them with health care and luxury amenities. He also was not known to be on the same equality level as Cooper and had to wear a comical outfit and use a different Bailey. This soon changed and by 1912, Robinson established himself on the Vaudeville circuit and gained considerable favor for his race, due to the fact that being a “real Ethiopian” was headline material during this time.
Great job summarizing the early life of Bill Robinson! I had no idea that originally blacks were not able to perform on the Vaudeville circuit. He seems like an inspirational performer that succeeded in making a name for himself in the dance world.
He was a very inspirational person who stood up for what he believed was right.