The Philadelphia Folklore Project announces

Historic documentary finally sees the light of day, after 10 YEARS of effort:
Plenty of Good Women Dancers: African American Women Hoofers from Philadelphia

(March 18, 2005) It took more than ten years to clear copyrights and get this documentary out in public, but the Philadelphia Folklore Project persevered, and on March 28th, 2005 at 10 PM, Plenty of Good Women Dancers, a long-awaited documentary about important local African American women artists, will be aired on WHYY-TV 12 in the Philadelphia area. The Folklore Project now also has the right to sell DVD copies of the piece, as well. "We're thrilled to give credit where credit is due, and to help let more people know the important stories of these amazing women," says Folklore Project Director Debora Kodish. (See clips)

Tap dancer Germaine Ingram was the one whose vision led this project. Ingram, a protege and dance partner of LaVaughn Robinson, initially became interested in uncovering some of the stories of these women, and she worked with the Folklore Project to begin an oral history project that eventually turned into a production, "Stepping in Time," when the veteran dancers and singers involved wanted "to show people what show business was all about." The Folklore Project kept video cameras rolling, and when "Stepping" played to sold out houses in January 1994, the PFP had it all on tape. It took another year to complete the documentary, under the direction of Ingram, Debora Kodish and Barry Dornfeld, but then the project got bogged down in legal and financial difficulties when the studios and corporations owning the rights to many historic Black films wanted enormous fees for the right to include snippets of music and dance in this low-budget piece. The Folklore Project kept trying to clear the rights, but kept meeting obstacles. Finally, Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts connected the Folklore Project with lawyers at Ballard Spahr Andrews and Ingersoll, LLC, who volunteered their time to hammer out agreements that allowed Plenty to be formally released this year.

Plenty of Good Women Dancers tells the stories of exceptional local African American women tap dancers who "came up" during the 1920s-1950s. Restricted to few roles, often unnamed and uncredited, these women have largely remained anonymous within (and outside) of the entertainment industry and sometimes even within the communities in which they live. Plenty uses glamorous film clips, photographs, and dancers' own vivid recollections to provide a dynamic portrait of veteran women hoofers prominent during the golden age of swing and rhythm tap.

The documentary brings attention to the voices and experiences of a half dozen Philadelphia women who worked as dance acts, in the chorus line, and as show producers from the 1930s and 1940s through the 1980s. Speaking candidly, and powerfully, Edith "Baby Edwards" Hunt, Hortense Allen Jordan and Libby Spencer tell of how buried assumptions about race, class, gender, and color shaped their lives, and affected the evolution and evaluation of an art form. Plenty showcases the creative achievements and distinctly different experiences of a generation of under-appreciated dance pioneers; it tries to give them their due.

Philadelphia has long been known as a major site for the development of African American tap dance. Many important dancers developed their styles and got their schooling on Philadelphia street corners and in shed kitchens. In telling a fuller and more inclusive history of tap dance, Plenty of Good Women Dancers brings attention to important African American women artists, and encourages public discussion of the what happens when fabulous talent is met with scarce opportunity, scarce resources, and unequal access.

Dr. Brenda Dixon Gottschild (author, performer, and Professor Emerita, Dance Studies, Temple University) lauds the work: "With flair, enthusiasm, and intelligence, Plenty of Good Women Dancers reinserts into popular dance history and American history the amazing presence and resonance of artists such as Jeni LeGon, Edith 'Baby' Edwards, Libby Spencer, Juanita Pitts, Cora LaRedd, Isabelle Fambro, and the inimitable, invincible Hortense 'The Body' Allen - names we should know and, now, will not easily forget. This visual memoir, told by the extraordinary women who lived it, offers invaluable contemporary testimonials and archival footage focusing on (but not limited to) Philadelphia women 'hoofers.' Some had careers that began in the swing era (1930s-40s). All attest to the ecstasy of performance tempered by the misery of dancing in the shadows, with their male counterparts taking the spotlight."

Plenty features the late Edith "Baby Edwards" Hunt, the late Libby Spencer, and Hortense Allen Jordan, with LaVaughn Robinson, Germaine Ingram, the late Delores and Dave McHarris, Kitty DeChavis, the late Isabelle Fambro and the cast of "Stepping in Time," and historic footage of Jeni LeGon, Cora LaRedd, Dottie Saulters, Juanita Pitts, the Miller Brothers and Lois, the Four Covans and others. The documentary was directed by Germaine Ingram, Debora Kodish, and Barry Dornfeld, and produced by Debora Kodish and Barry Dornfeld. Plenty is produced with the assistance of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, The National Endowment for the Arts, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

For more information, contact the Folklore Project at (215) 726-1106 or pfp@folkloreproject.org. DVDS are available with a credit card through the Folklore Project website (www.folkloreproject.org) or by sending a check for $24.95 + $2.00 postage/handling to the Folklore Project, 735 South 50th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19143. For more information: 215.726.1106.