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Born In Fort Smith, Arkansas
Born with the name Howard Sims. He grew up in Los Angeles. He changed his name to his stage name, Sandman Sims, because he danced on sprinkled sand. -
Learned to dance
He learned to dance at the age of three from his father, who was a barber. His father also taught Howard's 11 brothers and sisters how to dance too. "I was born dancing" - Sandman Sims -
1930's - Wanted to be a boxer, but broke his hand and starting dancing
He learned to dance from boxing, when he would move his feet around in the rosin box.
He later taught footwork to the famous boxers Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali.
His style of dance was putting sand on the ground and then using tap shoes to dance on it. This style made a brushing and scratching sound. -
Arrived in Harlem, New York
His close friend Archie Moore drove him to New York. Harlem was the African American community in New York at the time.
He fell into a group called the Hoofers. -
Period: to
Danced at Apollo
He danced at Apollo for 17 years. He was known as the Apollo theater legend.
He was the amateur competition there 25 straight times! -
1950s - Married Sandra Hochman
He has two daughter named Mercedes White and Diana Jones and a son Howard Jr. He has 9 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. -
Works as executioner for the Apollo Theater
He also worked as a stage manager for the Apollo -
Opened in Tap Happenings
Tap Happenings was a revue which played off-broadway that featured Sandman sims and several other tap dancers. There were often challenges between tap dancers, where 2 dancers would try to outshine each other. -
1980s - Tap Dance Revival
He toured the world as a representative for the U.S. State Department. He was an unofficial ambassador for tap dance to help teach tap. -
Won National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts
He used the fellowship money to teach dance to kinds in a Harlem parking lot. -
Held a role in the movie Tap
The movie Tap came out in 1989, and he played a character named Sandman which was based on himself. Other actors in this movie includedGregory Hines, Sammy Davis Jr., and Savion Glover. -
Played a tap teacher in an episode of The Cosby Show
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Attended the Fourth Annual Young People's Tap Conference
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Died in the Bronx, New York
He was 86 years old. He died due to Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, and an ulcer. -
Sources for the Timeline
These are the sources I used for my dance project: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/30/arts/sandman-sims-86-tap-dancer-and-fixture-at-the-apollo.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THc9nhOo5kQ http://biography.jrank.org/pages/2431/Sims-Howard-Sandman.html https://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage/fellows/howard-sandman-sims
