Maurice Hines, a dazzling member of tap dance and Broadway royalty, died on December 29, 2023, two weeks after his 80th birthday.

As youngsters, my brother, Gregory, and I went to the Apollo Theater in Harlem to watch tap greats like Teddy Hale, Bunny Briggs, the Step Brothers and Coles & Atkins. Most of those guys would come on the stage and just tap.

While tapping to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, Dario Natarelli finds a way to make something we have all heard before sound new. His choreography alternately matches the rhythmic cadence of King’s words and honors the meaningful pauses between them. Watching the masterful control he has over his footwork and dynamics, […]