Born on July 24, 1923, Lloyd Storey, was a Tap Master and National Treasure. Lloyd Storey was born in Detroit, but he grew up in New York where he spent countless hours watching tap dancers in vaudeville shows. He quickly picked up tap's intricate rhythms, fused them with his own gliding energy, and developed a style that seemed effortless in its execution. When he was 14 years old, he began dancing in New York's Apollo Theatre as a member of the famed Apollo Chorus Boys. Although World War II interrupted his career where he served as a member of the U.S. Navy shore patrol, Ninth Naval District, he quickly fell into step upon his return home returning to the stage with all the greats of the time, the likes of Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Redd Foxx, Peg Leg Bates, Count Basie. One of Mr. Storey's most notable accomplishments was his membership in New York's exclusive Hoofer's Club. Throughout his life, Lloyd Storey introduced the joy and the beauty of tap dancing to appreciative audiences around the globe. A social worker by training, he knew the cultural and historical significance of this indigenous dance form, and he dedicated his life to teaching others of its value. Indeed, he was a major contributor to the rebirth of tap in our country.

 

Whenever he was asked to name the person who had the greatest impact on this career, Mr. Storey did not hesitate. He named his great friend and mentor Bill "Bojangles'' Robinson. Not only did Mr. Storey dance with Bojangles' famed troupe, he learned from him the importance of passing his craft to the next generation of tappers. Mr. Storey taught at the advanced level and provided lectures and demonstrations both at home and abroad. In the 1980's Lloyd Storey taught tap in Europe and Japan as part of a cultural exchange program. In addition to his dance career, Mr. Storey earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Social Work degree from Wayne State University. He was a program director for the Neighborhood Service Organization in Detroit until his retirement in 1989.

  

Mr. Storey's last professional performances were in 1995 with the European tour of the Tony-Award-winning Broadway production of ``Black and Blue.'' He was taken ill while performing on stage in Zurich, Switzerland. Lloyd Storey was far more than a gifted dancer and dedicated community activist. He was a man whose elegance on the dance floor reflected his innate grace and style. 

 

When Mr. Storey moved back to Detroit from New York, he formed the “Detroit Sultans” tap ensemble with Fletcher “T Bone” Hollingsworth and Frank Colvard, he also directed the city’s Tap Repertory Ensemble, as well as teaching at the Center for Creative Studies.  Art Beat Dance Center’s Director, Brenna Kuhn, was fortunate enough to dance in that Repertory Ensemble and study with Lloyd Storey at the Center for Creative Studies.  He was her first mentor and foundational tap teacher.  He taught her the joy and passion of rhythm tap and importance of community and giving back.  

 

These values: joy, passion, and community, create the foundation of Art Beat Dance Center.  Recipients of the Lloyd Storey Scholarship must embody the qualities in their dancing and their lives.