When I started getting interested in Tap dance history I found many accounts and stories involving events that took place at the Hoofers Club, but there was very little information on the actual place. Such a place, which seemed to have had so much importance in the formative years of Tap Dancing, had seemed to be left out of any in-depth study.

Most books involving Tap dance history mention the Hoofers Club in Harlem as if it were a place that you singed up for Tap dance lessons. This thought would not be too far from the truth because it was a place that an aspiring dancer could learn a lot in such a short space of time, such was the wealth of talent that frequented this mystical room.

I have read so many short references about this little room called the Hoofers Club found in the back of a gambling club in a basement situated beside a well known theatre. I have put together what in my opinion are the most interesting accounts that I have found from many different sources. I have brought them all together in this web site to provide a more comprehensive collection of events surrounding the evolving Hoofers Club years.

It is amazing how a little room in the back of a gambling club could capture the imagination of so many. I suppose you would have to be a Tap dancer to appreciate it's full value, but never the less it is a fascinating story and one that needs to be told.

By Tony Curtis