Remembering Tap Dancer Leon Collins

A tribute, profile,and fan site for professional tap dancer Leon Collins.

NAME: Leon Collins
DATE OF BIRTH: February 7, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH: Chicago, Illinois, United States
DATE OF DEATH: April 16, 1985

Leon Collins was born in Chicago in the 1920's and he toured with several groups and big bands until the 1960s. A 1970's resurgence of interest in tap dancing brought him out of retirement. He establish a dancing school in Boston where one of his star students was Dianne Walker. He made his debut at Jacob's Pillow, at the age of 61, June 25, 1983, on less than two years before h/p> e died. His final performance was at the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival in Los Angeles. Leon Collins died of cancer at age 63 in the Spring of 1985.

In 1983 Leon Collins received a Massachusetts Artists Foundation fellowship for choreography.

Dance Studios of Leon Collins
Leon Collins opened the "Star Steps Studio" with Mae Arnette in 1976. He moved his studio to Brookline in 1982 and renamed it the "Leon Collins Dance Studio". The new studio was a partnership Leon Collins and three of his students: Dianne Walker, Pamela "Pam" Raff, and Clara Brosnaham "CB" Heatherington.

Songs Unwritten: A Tap Dancer Remembered
The documentary film "Songs Unwritten" was focused on the life of Leon Collins. It was filmed in Brookline, Massachusetts and it was written, directed, and produced by David Wadsworth. The documentary features Leon Collins, Dianne Walker, James "Buster" Brown, Jane Goldberg, Dizzy Gillespie, Janet Borgman, and Eric Bruno Borgman. Leon Collins died in 1985 and this film was released in 1989
- Internet Movie Database "Songs Unwritten" Film

ATDF Tap Dancing Hall of Fame: Leon Collins Bio
Leon Collins was inducted into the Tap Dance hall of Fame in 2007.

Performing Arts Database "Leon Collins" Bio

Tap Legacy Foundation "Leon Collins" Profile

Wikipedia "Leon Collins" Article

Valerie Thurston "Leon Collins" Article

LA Times "Leon Collins" Obituary