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<br />GeBauer sports the mustache and sideburns he was instructed to
<br />grow for Hello, Dolly! by drrectorfchoreographer Gower Champion.
<br />to the basics." A stickler for clean sounds, he believes there
<br />is great value in taking time to become articulate. It's a
<br />"response to the contemporary tendency to dance fast and
<br />loud, and do nothing but tricks and flash steps," he says.
<br />"I concentrate my teaching on the basics of tap, stressing
<br />clear taps and accurate rhythms."
<br />"He's a demanding teacher, insisting on clean taps and
<br />technical proficiency," student Amy Watson says. "His
<br />teaching technique makes it impossible for any serious
<br />student not to succeed."
<br />GeBauer's classes draw from classic, Broadway, and
<br />rhythm tap. When asked to define the differences among
<br />the three styles, he laughs and says, "Now that is the hard-
<br />est question yet! Broadway tap involves the body to tell a
<br />story. You can't stand in one place, you've gotta move!"
<br />Rhythm tap, in contrast, is all about the feet. "It's really mu-
<br />sical if you think about it." But this man who spent 20 years
<br />on Broadway favors classic, not Broadway, tap. "Classic tap
<br />is reminiscent of the hoofers from the 1930s and '40s," he
<br />says. "And it just feels good on the body."
<br />OANC ;,:. :LIFE 4:dicated to quality dance education • Marciilkprri 2U12
<br />Staying power
<br />After six decades of dancing, GeBauer shows no signs of
<br />slowing down. At 77 he teaches adult private and group
<br />lessons five days a week —a total of 18 hours in the studio.
<br />He still performs and has produced two instructional
<br />DVDs: Basic Tap Dancing With Gene GeBauer and Three
<br />Easy Dances With Gene GeBauer.
<br />Perhaps more impressive, however, is that he is still
<br />taking class. And his commitment to learning is not lost
<br />on his students. "I especially appreciate his continued
<br />passion for tap dance," says Randy Downing, a stu-
<br />dent for several years. "He continues to not only teach
<br />a full schedule, but he always attends any workshops
<br />in the area and is happy to be a student and continue
<br />learning."
<br />GeBauer has made an indelible mark in the classroom
<br />and beyond. JoLynn Scot, a student of four years, says,
<br />"Gene cares about every student personally and takes the
<br />time to get to know them, not just as class members but as
<br />friends."
<br />Lisa Chesney, another student, credits GeBauer for her
<br />love of tap. "What Gene has given me over the past four
<br />years is an absolute passion for dance."
<br />At a 75th Birthday Tap Bash held in GeBauer's honor at
<br />D.L. Parsons Theatre in Northglenn, Colorado, students
<br />came from as far away as New York to pay tribute to their
<br />mentor.
<br />When asked about his tips for staying strong, GeBauer
<br />shrugs, as if it's no big deal for a near - octogenarian to
<br />tap 18 hours per week. "I do five minutes of Alexander
<br />Technique each morning and I take fruit and a sandwich to
<br />the studio. When I teach for hours straight, my students do
<br />a good job of asking me if I've had a snack. I'm diabetic,
<br />you know." Not surprisingly, even diabetes does not slow
<br />him down.
<br />In 2010 GeBauer was honored as the featured profes-
<br />sional at the 19th Annual St. Louis Tap Festival. He taught
<br />classes alongside tap stars Dormeshia Sumbry- Edwards,
<br />Omar Edwards, and Germaine Salsberg and performed a
<br />solo called Soft Shoe Sam in the faculty concert. The big-
<br />gest honor during the festival, however, was a proclama-
<br />tion from the mayor of St. Louis declaring July 31, 2010,
<br />"Gene GeBauer Day."
<br />Robert Reed, founder and artistic director of the festival,
<br />is generous with his praise: "Gene is what tap should be
<br />and used to be. He's sharing, knowledgeable, respectful of
<br />others, and generous in his giving of gifts. He gives like my
<br />mentor, Maceo Anderson, a founding member of the Four
<br />Step Brothers, dicl. He is one of our elder statesmen. He is
<br />loved by many."
<br />Looking back, GeBauer says he appreciates the jour-
<br />ney from fearful boy to Broadway performer to influential
<br />teacher. "Almost everything I so badly needed as a young
<br />boy, I now have. It looks different than I thought it would,
<br />but it is better than what I thought it might be." +
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