Bufalino, Brenda (1937–)

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Bufalino, Brenda (1937–)

American tap dancer. Name variations: Strickland Sisters. Born 1937 in Lynn, Massachusetts.

At 8, began appearing on nightclub stages throughout Massachusetts, tapping in her mother and aunt's show, The Strickland Sisters (c. 1945); toured for the USO, performing in hospitals after WWII; turned to jazz, and danced with Stanley Brown's dance troupe (starting 1952); often seen as leading figure in tap revival, moved to NY and became immersed in the cultural revolution of bebop, dancing in jazz clubs throughout the city (c. 1954); performed in concert with Charles "Honi" Coles, touring US, England and France; founded American Tap Dance Orchestra (ATDO) in NY (1986); with ATDO, created Woodpeckers Tap Dance Center in Soho, NY (1989); received grant from National Endowment for the Arts for production of documentary Great Feats of Feet: Portraits of the Jazz Tap Dancer; received Flo-Vert Lifetime Achievement Award.