** Double feature! Two newly restored documentary classics, courtesy of Milestone Films, for the price of one! **

(George T. Nierenberg, US, 1979, 58 min)

(George T. Nierenberg, US, 1985, 27 min)

Filmed at a time when there was a question of tap dance’s survival, George Nierenberg’s remarkable No Maps On My Taps offered brilliant insight into this indigenous American art form. The film’s incandescent artistry helped bring about a renaissance that has thrived to this day.

The remarkable spirit of tap dancers and their history provides a joyous backdrop for intimate portraits of hoofers Sandman Sims, Chuck Green and Bunny Briggs. The three legendary tap artists may have represented very different aesthetics but they shared a solidarity of spirit and tales of a long life on the road. About Tap, Nierenberg’s brilliant and blissful followup film, introduces Gregory Hines, who shares his childhood memories of watching and imitating the tap dance greats at the Apollo Theater.

Taken together, Nierenberg’s extraordinary documentaries tell the story of tap as a powerful expression of black heritage and culture.