The Pied Piper’s Taps:
Al Gilbert, the legendary “Pied Piper of Dance,” was born Allesandro Zicari on July 12, 1921. Al came from a generation of people who valued one another and truly cared. During that time, people genuinely treasured friendships and supported each other’s endeavors. This was in an age without technology. Thus, people reached out more to one another than they do today. They talked, were friendly, and neighborly, and they built relationships and bonded. They tried to make life easier, more palatable, and they freely and without reservation lent a helping hand when needed. People of this era also assisted by helping unconditionally those who were less fortunate.
Al Gilbert was affectionately known as Uncle Al, Star–Maker, Dance Educator, and the teachers’ teacher. His career lasted well over 60 years. He was a no-nonsense instructor who inspired and motivated all. He was internationally known, and could simplify steps in a way no one else could.
The Music Works Unlimited website says it best: “At a time when nothing like it existed, …Al’s revolutionary vision to create instructional dance material for dance instructors and their students generated a trend that changed the entire dance industry.”
Al codified syllabi for tap and jazz dance and made a long–lasting impact on the dance world. From the earliest days, when he worked side by side with his brothers on the back street-corners of Rochester, New York, Al Gilbert made dance more accessible without even realizing it.
I first met Al on a beautiful Southern California spring day in 1954. I was three. My mother was driving down Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles, with me by her side, in our 1952 two-tone blue hardtop Chevy. She looked up and spotted a sign. It read, “Al Gilberts Theatrical Dance Studio.”
Being the progressive thinker and person she was, she turned the corner, parked the car, took me by my little hand, and walked through his front doors to talk with him. Of course, she had called ahead, and after being turned down by every other dance teacher in town, she knew Al was eager to work with me, a tiny girl with a leg brace. That was well over 70 years ago. It was a magical moment as he greeted the two of us both. Within seconds of entering his door, my mother and I both knew. It was my privilege to be his friend, his student, and to become a teacher, who has carried on his precious legacy to our disabled community in so many ways.
There is not much talk or literature about Allesandro Zicari, and how Al gave of himself and his time unconditionally, not only to future stars like Annette Funicello, but to the disabled world. So I will. He helped everyone who came to him, even my disabled girlfriends from school. And my mother thought so much of him, she recommended Al to their parents.
Al Gilbert, dance teacher, poet, author, and humanitarian, proposed coming to my elementary school for handicapped kids and giving of himself and his talents unreservedly. He was enthusiastic about teaching other disabled children and giving his time to our community. However, even though the master in taps, he did not have a college teaching degree, so he was blocked by “the experts.” Time and time again he “proved it could be done” while the experts said it couldn’t! He was a leader in his own right and made an impact on every life he touched. Including mine!
I remember that day we met. I was a toddler, only three and a half years old. And to remember so vividly after so many years is truly a blessing. I remember how he unconditionally loved me, and how he gently took me under his wing and nurtured me. I remember how he taught me to dance, and how he would look down at me with his smile. His kind and mild temperament, along with his encouraging words, taught me how to hop, skip, jump, and run. He also taught me to point and flex my toes, and gain movement in my left ankle that I probably would never have developed if it weren’t for him.
No therapist ever gave to me like he gave himself. Because of his teachings and his techniques, my once twisted torso straightened out, along with my left leg. Not only did my dragging foot and floppy out–to–the–side gate correct itself, but at age eleven, I was able to hang my full length brace in my closet, never to wear it again, thanks to his unwavering dedication and devotion, week after week, year after year, recital after recital, teaching me lessons with and without my brace, dramatically changing me and my physical being.
Through all those years, he gently but firmly reminded me to bend my knees while doing shuffles, shuffle hops, or shuffle ball changes. I recall him telling me to turn my knee out for better positioning, and I remember hearing his voice on his tap technique records. Al gave me a ballet bar too, along with a book about a little girl who had weak legs, who got strong through dance—only to become a ballerina. One time he went away, and when he returned, he brought me cymbals to improve my coordination and strengthen my left hand. In his unwavering, unique, and loving approach toward me, he tried every way possible to motivate and encourage.
After my other therapies and lessons were done for the day, every chance I had, I practiced his teachings. Every chance while at home, I practiced after all my other therapy lessons were done. So, with discipline, willingness, and an open mind, I put my record player on, to hear Al’s soothing voice instructing me as he always did.
I also remember him making my lessons fun, calling my mother up to have her bring me into his studio for extra lessons with no extra charge. He used to say to my mama… “…Karen’s smile was payment in full…that was all I needed.”
He even signed me up for piano lessons, at his expense, and he made these fun too. With his playful side, he checked up on me and the piano teacher every chance he got. Never once did he let on that the piano lessons were to strengthen my left hand.
I remember the closeness we had, and how our friendship developed over the decades. I trusted Al. I respected him and his word, and I talked to him as if he were my daddy after I lost my own to cancer. Al became a temperate figure I looked up to for strength and endurance. Al became the rock and pillar in my mind’s eye to endure all. He gave me a quiet love, acceptance, and devotion not only for dance, movement, and rhythm, but he bestowed upon me a burning desire and passion which could not be denied. His love and enthusiasm for music, rhythm, and mankind was passed on, body, mind, and soul. I knew what I wanted to become, and I was going to become it. I was going to follow Al Gilbert’s footsteps even though I had cerebral palsy. I was blessed with the same gift as Al.
I was born to dance, and as with all his students before and after me, Al endowed me with his skill and talent.
Al Gilbert – Transitions – Pied Piper of Dance dead at 81 – owner of Stepping Tones Ltd – Obituary
Dance Magazine, Sept, 2003 by Jo Rowan
Gilbert, a poet, performer, mentor, educator, and businessman, owned Stepping Tones Ltd., which produced more than 1,000 “graded” dances for teachers and students. His codified syllabi for tap and jazz made a major impact on the way these forms were taught internationally. Gilbert created songs and dances, recorded them with vocal instruction and written notes, and marketed them as records, tapes, CDs, and videos. His many videos and dance notes are available at the New York Public Library, for the Performing Arts.
Born Allesandro Zicari in upstate New York, Gilbert learned to tap dance on the streets and danced with his brothers, Charlie and Pat (Rico), and his sister, Rose, in nightclubs and theaters until World War II, when he served in the Army Air Corps and performed for the troops. After his 1945 discharge he moved to Hollywood and danced in The Jolson Story. But his real love lay in making classes fun at Al Gilbert’s Hollywood Theatrical Dance School.
Gilbert taught internationally at private studios and major dance conventions such as Dance Masters of America, Dance Educators of America, and Dance Olympus. He also created the Al Gilbert Dance Seminars and wrote Al Gilbert’s Tap Dictionary: Encyclopedia of Tap Terminology and Related Information. His knowledge, energy, and generosity distinguished his educational work; he could simplify steps and motivate students while clarifying technique for teachers.
Oklahoma City University presented him with the Living Treasure in American Dance Award. He was also honored by many dance organizations for his tireless efforts to improve the teaching of American dance. He produced five concerts at Pepperdine University to showcase emerging choreographers and dance companies. A member of Oklahoma City University’s School of American Dance & Arts Management Executive Advisory Board, he taught annually at the campus. During his last visit, he said that despite his failing health, he loved what he was doing, because “teachers live through their students.” Gilbert’s immeasurable influence will live on through his students and their students.
A celebration of his life took place in May.
Formalizing The Language Of Tap. – Fletcher, Beverly – Gilbert, Al – Review – book reviews
Dance Magazine, Feb, 1999 by Debbi Dee
Though a basic vocabulary does exist for common steps found in tap dancing, still there is great variation from one dancer and teacher to another, depending on where in the world the step was learned, the age of the step, and the tapper’s everyday vocabulary. Hence the need for dictionaries.
The year 1998 brought out several new tap dance dictionaries, two by legends of tap that should be added to every dance teacher’s library. Of course, they should be on every reference librarian’s list, too, and they are also easy to read and to use for serious students.
Tapworks, by tap master teacher Beverly Fletcher, is a dictionary and reference manual. It is a labor of love and concern that brings to the reader all the years of Fletcher’s expertise and knowledge as a dancer and teacher. This is the only book I have read that talks about the two different forms of tap.
This book is packed with information on tap history, from its beginning to the present, and the impact tap dancing has had on dance as an art form. This historical prelude is followed by standard abbreviations for steps and figures and the most comprehensive and accurate dictionary this tap dancer has ever seen. In the remaining pages, she gives considerable insight into theatrical staging of dance, and theatrical terminology. The book ends with a glossary of styles and dances as well as specific types of tap dance steps.
Tapworks has been adopted by the Dance Masters of America, Inc., as the official tap manual to be used in conjunction with the organization’s tap teaching syllabus, which was also written by Ms. Fletcher. I highly recommend this for its clarity and thoroughness.
To order Tapworks from the author, write her at 1336 Garrett Ave., Niagara Falls, NY 14305 ($35 plus $5 shipping–New York residents add $2.45 sales tax); or you may order [Pi] from Dance Masters of America, Inc. (national).
Al Gilbert’s Tap Dictionary is also an invaluable aid for every dance student and studio owner. The renowned and beloved dance educator and tap legend has used his years of experience to lay out thorough, easy-to-follow, progressive instructions. He has also filled this book with information far beyond a dictionary of tap terms and abbreviations. This manual also includes different styles of tap routines. musical terms and theory, and theatrical terms. Gilbert includes a section on how to read and write tap dance notation, which he has so generously provided his students with for more than fifty years.
Known as the “Pied Piper of Dance,” Gilbert continues to pioneer educational dance material from his graded tap technique, his Stepping Tones recordings, and now, his long-awaited tap dictionary.
Al Gilbert’s Tap Dictionary is available through Stepping Tones Ltd. Books, P.O. Box 35236, Los Angeles, CA 90035; (323) 965-5500; fax (323) 965-7717. ($40 plus $5.50 postage–California residents add $3.30 sales tax).
The Tap Dance Dictionary, by Mark Knowles, published by McFarland & Company, Inc., limits itself to a brief introduction on how to read tap notation and then launches into a dictionary description of tap from chugs, flaps, and the shim-sham to the zank and zink. It may be ordered from the publisher at Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640 ($49 postpaid); (910) 246-4460; fax (910) 246-5018. If you ask your local bookseller to order it, refer to ISBN: 0-7864-0352-7.
Debbi Dee, a protegee of Henry LeTang, is now a master tap teacher, choreographer, and producer of instructional recordings.
Does anyone use Al Gilberts Tap
Does anyone use Al Gilberts Tap
http://www.dance.net/topic/4559310/1/Teachers-Only/Does-anyone-use-Al-Gilberts-Tap.html&replies=22
An interesting link
Hey there I am so grateful I found your site, I really found you by error, while I was looking on Yahoo for something else, Regardless I am here now and would just like to say many thanks for a marvelous post and a all round enjoyable blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to read through it all at the minute but I have book-marked it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read much more, Please do keep up the great job.
Karen, thanks so much for your meaningful tribute to Al Gilbert. We know now that another of his students in 1954, 11 year old Annette Funicello would find her life forever transformed the following year when her dance training found her performing in a Burbank recital where Walt Disney himself was in the audience.
Annette’s fans, family and friends will no doubt appreciate reading your tribute… and so we’ve shared your link on the Facebook page for The Annette Funicello Research Fund for Neurological Diseases.
Again, thank you for such an encouraging testimony and we wish you continued health and happiness in the days to come.
If there is a way to pass my contact info to Karen, I would appreciate it. I was a student & Jr. Teacher, while Karen was at Al’s studio. I was often with him when he worked with his physically challenged students. I also remember Karen’s amazing progress, year to year, in our recitals. Al continues to be an inspiration in my life, & work… as does Karen… she should know it. Thanks
Hi Lori,
This is Karen, Karen Lynn Hershkowitz when I went to Al’s. A lot has happened since then. I’m not sure if you were referring to Karen Dick, as I took all regular classes with Al. I am thrilled you wrote. It’s been so long and such a sweet surprise to hear from you. I went on and followed Al’s footsteps of becoming an aerobic and adaptive aerobic, yoga and palates instructor, inspirational speaker, author and advocate and a voice of hope for people with cp and dyslexia. I remember you in Al’s adult classes. Right? It would be lovely to keep in touch- my email address is karenlynn@whispersofhope.org
Take care!!!!!
Thank you Dave>:))))))))))))))
Sorry for the long, overdue response. I just saw it now!
If I can be of help to you or others please don’t hesitate to write me at:karenlynn@whispersofhope.org
Take care!!!!!!
Thank you soooo much Sly…..
I am sorry for the late, late, reply, but thank you for your super kind words. They mean so much.
Take care!!!
Lori, This is Karen Dick (Karen Lynn H mentions me in her email to you)I’m sorry, I don’t recall you. I took lessons with Al from 1959 to about 1966 or ’67. I returned to Al-taking lessons in 1975 and remained with him until his death in 2003. Just by your first name, I don’t recall who you are, but would love to hear from you- perhaps you can jog my memory- I’m still in touch with Al’s niece. My email is kd54home@aol.com I would love to hear from you.(Thanks Karen— talk to you soon)