Another winning thing about summer--at least, theoretically--is that with a less intense dance calendar, there's more time for reading. (I wrote "theoretically" because frankly I'm still trying to find unclaimed and undisturbed time to concentrate on what I want to read for pleasure, let alone what I've promised to review.) Most recently, I was sent a galley copy of Jane Goldberg's memoir, Shoot Me While I'm Happy: Memories from The Tap Goddess of the Lower East Side. I knew that Jane had been working on this little number for...what has it been? seven decades now? whatever... Well, I'm far from being able to give you a straightforward review, but I'm so excited by what I've already read that I wanted to let you know about it right away!
From its foreword by the late Gregory Hines--one of Goldberg's staunchest friends--to the wealth of personal and historical images from the author's archives, this memoir both entertains and informs about how the great art and artists of tap dance were brought out of undeserved obscurity by Goldberg and her colleagues. This is a charming page-turner, not an academic History of Tap, and I'm sure others will have their own take on things, as Jane Goldberg--a former investigative journalist for an alternative weekly in Boston--has never been anything but forthright about her point of view and her quirks. But it's the book I want to read now. The writing is generous, funny, honest and insightful--full of good stories in which you will meet a slew of unforgettable characters, the Down-to-Earth Goddess Goldberg chief among them.
A DVD of Goldberg's By Word of Foot: Tap Masters Pass on Their Tradition, an excerpt from Rhythm & Schmooze and "other Tapperabilia" round out the goodies. This extra is included only when either the hardback or the paperback edition is purchased directly from Goldberg's site, not from Amazon.com.
Don't worry. Get reading. Be happy.
From its foreword by the late Gregory Hines--one of Goldberg's staunchest friends--to the wealth of personal and historical images from the author's archives, this memoir both entertains and informs about how the great art and artists of tap dance were brought out of undeserved obscurity by Goldberg and her colleagues. This is a charming page-turner, not an academic History of Tap, and I'm sure others will have their own take on things, as Jane Goldberg--a former investigative journalist for an alternative weekly in Boston--has never been anything but forthright about her point of view and her quirks. But it's the book I want to read now. The writing is generous, funny, honest and insightful--full of good stories in which you will meet a slew of unforgettable characters, the Down-to-Earth Goddess Goldberg chief among them.
A DVD of Goldberg's By Word of Foot: Tap Masters Pass on Their Tradition, an excerpt from Rhythm & Schmooze and "other Tapperabilia" round out the goodies. This extra is included only when either the hardback or the paperback edition is purchased directly from Goldberg's site, not from Amazon.com.
Don't worry. Get reading. Be happy.
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