Eleanor Powell

Eleanor Powell was an American tap dancer and film actress whose precise, athletic style made her a leading musical performer in Hollywood films of the 1930s and 1940s.

Broadway Melody of 1936: A 1935 musical film featuring Eleanor Powell in her first major screen role. Its “Begin the Beguine” number established her as a screen tap star.
Tap dance: A dance form in which shoes with metal taps create rhythmic sounds through footwork. Powell’s defining art belongs to this broader tradition of rhythm made by movement.
Oakland, California: A city in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. Powell was born there in 1912 before beginning her dance career.
Bill Robinson: An American tap dancer and actor celebrated for his rhythmic precision and upright style. His screen partnership with Powell joined two distinct tap traditions in Honolulu.
Born to Dance: A 1936 musical film starring Eleanor Powell and James Stewart. “You and the Night and the Music” showcases Powell’s dancing within a Hollywood musical.
Rhythm: The patterned organization of sound and movement through time. Her footwork made rhythmic precision audible as well as visible.
Vaudeville: A form of popular entertainment built from varied live acts, including comedy, music, and dance. Powell performed in vaudeville as a child, gaining early stage experience.
Buddy Ebsen: An American actor and dancer who began his career as a stage and screen performer. He danced alongside Powell in “Fascinatin’ Rhythm” in Broadway Melody of 1938.
Broadway Melody of 1938: A 1937 musical film starring Eleanor Powell, Robert Taylor, and George Murphy. Its “Fascinatin’ Rhythm” sequence pairs Powell’s tap with Buddy and Vilma Ebsen.
Percussion: Music produced by striking, shaking, or scraping instruments and other sound-producing objects. Tap shoes functioned as percussion instruments in Powell’s musical numbers.

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