James Titus Godbolt nasceu em Atlanta, em 1927, mas foi em Boston, onde seus pais se mudaram quando ele ainda era criança, que descobriu seu amor e talento pelo sapateado. Ainda jovem, juntou-se ao Jimmy Mitchell para criar a dupla The Slyde Brothers, com o qual desenvolveu seu estilo deslizante. Ficou rapidamente conhecido no meio como Jimmy Slyde.
     Seu estilo elegante, sua musicalidade impecável, seu senso de ritmo, seu carisma e seus famosos deslizes pelo palco o tornaram uma personalidade em constante demanda pelas grandes orquestras de jazz da época, trabalhando assim com os maiores jazzistas, como Duke Ellington, Count Basie e Louis Armstrong, entre outros.

     Nos anos 70, morou na Suíça e na França, onde ajudou a desenvolver o rhythm tap, junto com Sarah Petronio. Em 1985, participou da montagem original de "Black and Blue", em Paris, e em 1987 voltou para os Estados Unidos, trabalhando nos espetáculos “Black and Blue” na Broadway, e nos filmes “Tap” (com Gregory Hines e Sammy Davis Jr), "The Cotton Club", “Round Midnight”, e outros. 
     Jimmy foi o mentor de sapateadores importantes da cena atual, como Van Porter, Max Pollack, Tamango, Roxanne 'Butterly’, entre muitos outros.

Ele faleceu dia 16 de maio 2008, aos 80 anos de idade.

Fiz essa entrevista em maio de 1998, quando veio ao Rio de Janeiro, a convite de Claudio Figueira, para participar do “Tap Encontro”. Vale a pena reler.

Steven Harper: Esta é a primeira vez que você vem ao Brasil?
Jimmy Slyde: Não, eu estive aqui antes com um show chamado "A Thousand Years of Jazz" – no Rio, São Paulo e algumas outras cidades da América Latina. Havia grandes dançarinos no grupo: Lon Chainey, Ralph Brown... foi ótimo.

SH.: Você se lembra em que ano foi isso?
JS.: Não exatamente, foi no início dos anos 70, antes de me mudar para a
Europa (Jimmy passou vários anos na Suíça e na França)

SH.: Essa turnê era com uma big band?
JS.: Não era uma orquestra grande, mas era uma grande orquestra. Chamava-se "The Legends of Jazz". Eles já eram senhores, todos de Nova Orleans e tocavam o jazz tradicional. Eles tinham em média 70, 80 anos –
foi um show muito bom.

SH.: Você era o jovem então?
JS.: Sim, eu era a criança no show (risos - ele tinha uns 45 anos).

SH.: Você conheceu algum sapateador brasileiro nesta turnê?
JS.: Um amigo me levou a alguns estúdios de dança. Eles não tinham muita gente com chapinhas, mas estavam sapateando, dançavam com sapatos comuns. O sapateado ainda não era muito popular e conhecido na época. Eles gostavam de assistir, a audiência era ótima, mas eu não acredito que muitos sapateadores tenham estado aqui antes de nós.

SH.: Agora você volta e tem entre 60 e 70 alunos assistindo sua aula. Qual
foi sua impressão sobre eles?
JS.: Eu penso o mesmo que antes: deveria haver mais sapateado no Brasil!
Eu fiquei feliz de ver tantos dançarinos maravilhosos, eu fiquei realmente
impressionado. Nas aulas nós não nos comunicamos verbalmente porque eu não falo português, mas nós nos comunicamos e eles entenderam e fizeram o que eu pedi que fizessem. Fizemos alguns fundamentos do sapateado e foi uma boa aula, acredito que eles se divertiram.

SH.: Em outras entrevistas suas, você sempre enfatiza a importância das
bases do sapateado. Porque isso e o que você achou dos sapateadores daqui?
JS.: Bem, as bases são o mais importante porque qualquer dança que se faça, consiste de básicos. É como um instrumento musical, você não vai tocar nenhuma nota que não esteja lá. Existem as bases e se faz combinações de passos a partir delas. Logo aqui, como em qualquer outro lugar, eles precisam praticar mais o básico. O mesmo vale pra você, pra mim, pra qualquer um! Eu também vi uma movimentação de qualidade e particularmente muito prazer em fazê-lo, então estou feliz com o que vi aqui.

SH.: Você se sente especialmente satisfeito quando vê jovens sapateando?
JS.: Sempre, sempre, porque eu sei que vai durar: jovens mostrando a outros jovens, mais velhos mostrando aos jovens... e o prazer continua, afinal a dança é essencialmente, prazer.

SH.: O sapateado quase sumiu durante os anos 50 e 60 nos Estados Unidos, durante esses anos, alguma vez você achou que o sapateado ia simplesmente morrer?
JS.: A dança não acabaria nunca, talvez os trabalhos. Mas o sapateado não acabaria, ou morreria, nunca. Os clubes, teatros, lugares onde as big bands tocavam, todos eles passaram a apresentar outros tipos de shows. A realidade crua ganhou mais importância, os negócios mudaram e não acho que estejamos melhor assim. Da mesma forma aconteceu com o cinema, nós costumávamos ver um monte de musicais, agora tudo que há é violência, não vejo alegria na indústria do entretenimento. Eu gostaria de ver um musical de vez em quando, o cinema. Quando foi a última vez que você viu um musical, fora da Broadway? Então, eu penso que se nós voltarmos para essas produções um pouco mais, mesmo que enfatizando hip hop, ou rap, ou o que quer que seja, o sapateado tem que estar presente, ele é clássico, vai existir enquanto existir dança. É simples assim.

SH.: Você mencionou hip hop, o que me faz pensar em Savion Glover (a
estrela do musical "Bring in da Funk, Bring in da Noise"). Você o vê como
um líder, alguém que pode influenciar positivamente e inspirar a nova
geração? (lembra que a entrevista data de 1998!)
JS.: Ah, ele já fez isso, inspirou um monte de jovens. Ele fez a dança importante de novo porque mostra a energia e a juventude, mas também mostra um grande sapateado – é fantástico – e ele passa sua experiência para outros grandes dançarinos como Bakaari Wilder, Omar, Derek Grant e todos os outros que fazem parte do show. Eles estão realmente marcando presença no mundo da dança.

SH.: Que conselho você daria para os jovens sapateadores de hoje?
JS.: É o mesmo que se preparar para o esporte: fique em forma. Entre-se em forma praticando, sabendo as bases. Eu continuo voltando para elas, isso te deixa afinado. Eu não acho que todos devam tentar ou vão tornar-se profissionais, mas vão ter muita diversão somada a um exercício melhor que aeróbica, e serve para pessoas mais velhas também. Você sabe, eu não sou mais nenhum garoto. Sapatear me mantém firme através dos anos, não é apenas saudável há também muito prazer na dança. A pessoa se inspira e não pára nunca de aprender. É uma atividade feliz!

SH.: Você diz que nunca pára de aprender. Você sempre sapateou do mesmo jeito que hoje? Depois de 50 anos de dança, você ainda se inspira com ela? Ainda cresce como dançarino?
JS.: Não acho que esteja crescendo e sim amadurecendo. Eu não me esforço
tanto, não pratico como deveria. Não sou um dançarino aspirante. Transpirante sim, aspirante não (risos). Isso é para a juventude. Eles têm que se exercitar, estar por dentro, trocar passos, ver o que os outros estão fazendo, gostar e pegar algo para si... manter-se saudáveis no sapateado. Eu mesmo fico por aí, tomando conta das minhas crianças, porque eu os chamo a todos de minhas crianças, Savion, Bakaari, Derek, Van Porter e todo mundo. Quando eles precisam saber de alguma coisa eu procuro estar à disposição. Van me chama de doutor, "Dr. Slyde" (risos). Então eu espero estar sendo útil aos dançarinos mais jovens, pra fazê-los ver como é bom.

SH.: Você teve uma boa vida?
JS.: Maravilhosa – e ainda continua...

SH.: Desculpe, não me leve a mal...
JS.: Ah, não, não... esta é a boa parte – a vida continua e eu sinto que ainda tem alguma coisa boa vindo por aí. Enquanto eu puder, por exemplo vir ao Rio e ter a oportunidade de fazer as pessoas sorrirem, isso me faz sentir feliz.

SH.: No palco você nunca se repete ou faz as mesmas combinações?
Sempre trabalhou na base do improviso ou já fez parte de um show onde devia repetir uma coreografia?
JS.: Eu amo improvisar porque amo o jazz, sou da geração do Be-bop, com Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, esse pessoal. Eu gosto da liberdade que o improviso permite. Eu sou um fã e estudioso dessa parte da dança, eu tento mantê-la viva. Eu espero que mais tarde alguém faça isso por mim.

SH: Mas o Be-bop não é uma música dançante, pelo menos não é a intenção do Be-bop de fazer dançar.
JS: Bom, alguns falam isso mas para mim era. Talvez porque conseguia pensar rápido o suficiente ou era interessado o suficiente em saber qual seria o papel do Be-bop dentro do jazz para querer participar do processo. Tenho a chance de ter muitos bons amigos músicos como Barry Harrisson, Dexter Gordon e de trabalhar com eles. A grande época dos big bands chegava no fim, era mais, sabe, pequenas bandas, e eu tinha mais gosto para o Be-bop.
Hey, não mudaria nada. Bom, na verdade gostaria de ter visto alguns sapateadores, como Baby Laurence, desfrutar de mais sucesso, que mais pessoas os conhecessem, porque eram realmente incríveis. Não pode imaginar a não ser que estava na companhia deles e pude ver e ouvir o que estavam fazendo. Eram tão a frente dos outros.
Mas eu, como disse, tento preservar e levar a arte para frente. Sou um fan e um estudioso dessa forma de sapatear. Espero que depois de mim vem alguém para a levar adiante. Van "The Man" está indo bem, Savion está ótimo. Herben Van Caseyle (‘Tamango’. Nota do tradutor) da Guiana, Roxanne (‘Butterfly’, como ele mesmo a batizou. Nota do tradutor), da França, tem muita gente.

SH.: Eles são seus "protegidos"?
JS.: Bom, nós temos algo em comum, nós curtimos o mesmo sentimento pela dança que é brincar com a música, não apenas tocá-la, mas brincar com ela, a gente se diverte muito trocando passos. Enquanto existir música, haverá dança.

SH.: Eu gostaria de dizer que, não apenas para mim mas para todas as pessoas envolvidas neste "Tap Encontro", a sua vinda aqui é algo muito especial, um grande evento, provavelmente maior do que você próprio possa imaginar.
JS.: Esse é um grande privilégio, não apenas ver o que estou vendo e ouvir o que estou ouvindo mas só de saber que alguém se importa com a dança e quer ver o coroa aqui escorregando por aí – fico muito orgulhoso. Sou grato ao Cláudio Figueira por me convidar e aos dançarinos pelo interesse e pela forma como o demonstram. E não esqueçamos a Margaret Morisson, ela está fazendo um maravilhoso trabalho deixando as crianças afinadas...

SH.: Muito obrigado por nos ceder um pouco do seu tempo, você teria algum comentário final?
JS.: Que a boa dança continue e que as pessoas possam ter prazer assistindo e participando.

Clique aqui para Voltar para o inicio da entrevista, parte 1 
Clique aqui para ler a entrevista em português  (editada)

SH: This is the first time for you in Brazil. It was a short trip, but what can you say about it?
JS: Yeah! All I can say is if you have the means, if you have the money, or even if you don't have the money, you should still come down here. People down here know how to have fun. That's what I think life is about, enjoying the moment. No matter what you're doing, if it’s dancing, if it’s sitting on top of a mountain overlooking a city, you should enjoy yourself to the fullest. That’s what tap is all about, enjoying who you are and who you're with. That's the best thing in life. I wouldn't rather do anything else. Tap is my calling and I believe I’m obligated to pursue it and to continue it. If it means coming down to Rio 5 times a year, I don't have a problem with that (laughs). But I would definitely recommend coming to Brazil. It’s a beautiful country, the culture is beautiful, the people, the language, the women (blows a kiss…), the beaches, the weather, I can go on and on. The tap dancers around here are excellent too. The tap community is growing and the more tap events I attend in the States the more I meet dancers from Brazil. Brazil is a heavy influence on tap and on the world and if you get a chance, anybody out there, come to Brazil.

SH: Jason, thanks a lot, it was a pleasure and an honor to have you here and to speak to you, especially in this incredible setting. Come back anytime.
JS: Thank you.

Aqui vai a integra da entrevista com Jason. Para ver a versão (editada) em português, clique aqui.

An interview with Jason Samuels

Jason Samuels was in Brazil in early 2002 and took part of the Tap in Rio event that I organize yearly. We had the following chat , sitting on a rock at the Dona Marta viewpoint, a hilltop overlooking the Guanabara Bay, the city of Rio and the famous Sugar Loaf. Here in the transcription of our conversation.

SH: Jason, when I saw you tap last week, I was very impressed by your technical level, the speed and the rhythms you created. Tell us a bit about your tap education. How did you learn?
JS: Basically, the best way to learn is to watch and to listen to other dancers and just to be aware of things going on around you. The more observant you can be the more you can say. So I started watching other dancers. In fact I started watching my sister tap. She originally got me interested in tap dance. After that I proceeded to take classes and study just to get my basic tap vocabulary. But I've always been fascinated with drums and rhythms and anything pertaining to creating a rhythm or percussive melodies. So tap, to me, symbolizes the perfect blend of dance and music and being a musician - turning your body into an actual instrument. I believe in fine-tuning yourself just like you would an instrument to create the best sound possible for the art form. The work ethic comes from watching dancers that never stop creating and never stop reaching for another level. I think I've had a good foundation and I've gotten a chance to see some of the greatest dancers - I believe the greatest tap dancers in the world. Their influence has kind of stuck with me, it’s imbedded in my memory. I think about them every time I dance, so I kind of keep that in the back of my mind when I dance. I keep in mind that when I dance I represent a whole kind of culture, a generation, you know, everything. I represent a lot of things. So to me it’s important that I represent it properly. To me, that means to be the best I can every time I do it.

SH Did you also study footage of dancers from another generation that you didn't have a chance to work with?
JS: Well, on rare occasion I've been able to come in contact with some of the great old time dancers: Buster Brown, Jimmy Slyde… I met Chuck Green one time, some great dancers that are from an older generation, a whole different time. These are people that have seen the world change. When they were growing up, there weren't any automobiles, cell phones and stuff like that. It was a simple way of life and, basically, the older dancers learned how to work with whatever they had and that meant being even more creative than the next dancer. The competition level of the older dancers was way higher than the younger dancers now because if you were not the best, you did not work, which meant you did not eat. That was not a choice, so you had to be the best at whatever you did. I think I understand that concept of needing to be the best in order to survive. I take it that seriously when I dance, even though times are different and it might not be as serious but it still is that serious to me. I try to maintain that vibe anytime I dance and represent tap dance.

SH: Did you start at a very young age? Did you always tap or did you also study other forms of dance?
JS: Yeah, when I was like seven I began taking formal dance lessons. I studied jazz dance technique, ballet and tap dance. That was basically my foundation for dance. I learned a lot from the other dance forms. Jazz and ballet gave me a lot of technique and physical control and taught me a lot about my own body, muscles and different types of uses for your body. It helped me in my tap because it made me a stronger dancer. It also brought in my perspective on dance and gave a lot of different angles because tap is a mixture of a lot of different types of dance, you know. The foundation, of course, is from Africa - African rhythms - but its dance is taken from Irish dancers, from Russian dancers, from Ballet dancers, any other type of dance. I think tap dancers tried to incorporate those forms into tap, so you'll see a lot of different moves that are recognizable, even now, in Hip-hop and Break Dancing. Their heavy influences are tap dancers - you can see it in their foot work and some floor moves.

SH: You mean Hip-hoppers taking from tap dancers?
JS: Yes yes! You know, almost any true B-boy, breaker or free styler will pay homage to tap dance and to tap dancers. They acknowledge the art form as being their main foundation for a lot of the things that they do. It’s beautiful to see that influence in today's popular culture and to be a part of that. The more people want to continue growing and creating new types of art forms the more they want to go back and find out where it comes from. Tap allows that to happen because it’s still going on today. It is still growing but it has such a rich cultural history that people want to go back and find out where it comes from and who did it, so it’s a beautiful thing.

SH: Do you work a lot on your own? How much of it is improvisation and what does improvisation mean in your artistic life?
JS: To me, improvisation really allows you to be free. Improvisation, for me, is the definition of freedom. Choreography is a great way to practice doing other people's creative interest.. just working on different technical skills, being able to pick up and imitate and do things of that nature. Improvisation is a whole different world, basically. It’s a surprise. I once heard a tap dancer say that it’s not only a surprise for the audience and whoever you're dancing for but it’s also a surprise to you. It’s a very cutting edge, up to the minute, constantly changing thing. Improvisation is a way for us to constantly evolve and change and grow. I think that's the best way for a tap dancer to express himself as an individual.

SH: Have you had to dance choreographies? You were in the Noise/Funk show - was that choreographed?
JS: Yeah, the show was about 80 percent, or even maybe 90 percent, choreography. It was great choreography, done by Savion Glover and directed by George C. Wolf. It was a beautiful production. The experience was amazing because I was exposed to great young dancers like Savion Glover, Bakaari Wilder, Omar Edwards, Derek Grant, Vincent Bingham, Joe Webb (?), Dormeshia Edwards … the list goes on. That was my college. That was my university, my tap university, That was me going through a stage where I got to learn from the younger generation of dancers and to see how they developed and how they work. It was a heavy influence on my style. I think I learned a lot from the experience.
In terms of doing choreography, it’s very good because it’s repetitious. You get to practice and to rehearse doing something over and over again, so it’s like fine tuning, it’s getting a chance at trying to perfect something as much as possible. Improvisation constantly changes so even a mistake can be something new. You can take it into a new direction but in choreography you work for a common goal. It’s to perfect that one thing. It’s good practice and mentally it will have you in a good place.
Segue na parte 2, clique aqui  

SH: The show is about the history of tap as seen through an African-American perspective. Savion makes an important political and historical statement at a certain point saying, in effect "Tap is not all those legs and smiles, tap is raw, it’s rhythm, it’s us, it’s ours". How do you feel about this?
JS: Well the statement is trying to bring tap back to its original roots, which is hoofing, which is rhythmic dance. When tap first began it was used for communication, for different people to speak to each other. As it evolved, it became entertaining and took different directions. Basically, it changed, it evolved into something that people wanted to watch in a movie or see on stage in a performance. That took it to a point where it wasn't about the rhythms created by the dancer any more. It was about solely entertaining the audience. That's cool, and that's one part of tap dance. But the original tap dancing began with rhythmic expression and communication between dancers - and communication between the dancers and the observer. So I think that the sole purpose of the show was to make people more aware of the original use of tap dance and to show people how younger dancers use it today. If you see the show, at the end there's a part called "conversations" where the dancers communicate with the dance. It’s a beautiful thing because even if you don't dance you can almost understand what is being said.
As for whatever Savion says, that of course is up to him. I can't speak for anybody so I'll just speak for myself. The original tap dancers were African- Americans, as we know. The show's real purpose was to make people aware of tap's roots, of what it originally began as and what we're trying to do with it. So it had a very political statement. It might have been offensive to certain people. But I believe that in many ways it was an eye-opening experience for a lot of people to understand the history of tap dance. People come up to me and only know tap dancers like Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly because they are the popular dancers as they've been in movies. But you know that's not the true history of tap. Those dancers - Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly- were great performers but I don't think they would claim being a tap dancer. First of all, they probably stole a lot of their stuff from people like Bill Robinson and John Bubbles, or Groundhog and King Rastus Brown. So, to me, to claim the title of a tap dancer is a hard thing to do. I'm still trying to accomplish that title.

SH: It’s interesting to note that the " Fred Astaire School of Dance" in the US teaches social dancing, ballroom dance, not tap.
JS: Right and that's funny because most people that know tap know tap by Fred Astaire. They don't know the Nicholas Brothers or the Four Step Brothers or Tip Tap Toe and Teddy Hale, Leon Collins, etc. They know the popular dancers. That's beautiful but we have to make sure when tap is represented that people know why. They should know where it comes from but they should also know why it’s being done. It shouldn't just be thrown around. It is a very deep art form and it has a lot of meaning behind it.

SH: A whole generation of African-Americans simply did not take up tap. In fact, from the 50's up to the 70's you rarely saw black tap dancers. Those were difficult times for tap dancing as African-Americans considered it something “Uncle Tom” to do. So, in the 70's you had people like Brenda, or Lynn Dally who undertook to bring tap back into the spotlight. Brenda produced a documentary on the Copasetics, and then established a partnership with Honi Coles. Later she founded the ATDO. I couldn’t help but notice that there were no black dancers in the company. When I asked her about it she said it was because she just didn't have any black students at that time. But then, when the young black dancers came back to tap dance, essentially following Gregory Hines and then the Savion phenomenon, and linking tap to the Hip-hop movement, they sort of kept together on their side too. Can you give me your point of view on this situation?
JS: Well, just like in anything, unfortunately, there is separation and segregation. In the tap community, first of all, there are not a lot of dancers. Even though there are, there aren’t. Most people are looking for some place to go and a lot of dancers don't take it upon themselves to try to create something from scratch. I really don't know why we end up dividing ourselves. I like to dance with all types of dancers. If we have a general motivation, a focus - which is to create rhythms and to express ourselves through the dance - I love to dance with anybody, it doesn't matter. But I think what Savion has done is made a lot of black people proud to do it again. Same thing with Gregory Hines and before him, Sammy Davis because, like you said, tap went through a phase when it wasn't popular. I think a lot of it was because of the music. What popular music became was not what tap dancers related to. Tap is an art form that mostly relates to jazz music. When jazz was the popular music in the US and around the world, tap was the popular dance to accompany the music and vice versa. As music changed the dance went more and more underground. Just for the record, it never died. Tap will never die, it’s impossible. It’s a feeling. Tap is not just something you do in a dance studio. It’s something you inhabit. You live it. It’s a lifestyle. It’s like hip-hop. Hip-hop is more than a music, more then dejaying and emceeing, it’s a lifestyle. It’s the way you wake up in the morning and brush your teeth and put your shoes on. It’s how you do it. So, tap will never die, it will always be here, whether on a mainstream or an underground level and I appreciate all these dancers for whatever their contributions are. I feel that we are all obligated as tap dancers to contribute back to the art form whether it’s teaching, creating a company, putting a show together. Doing something for the art form is important. So, whether it’s Brenda Buffalino putting together the American Tap Dance Orchestra, Lynn Dally on the West Coast, Savion Glover, anybody, or even, you know, Tap Dogs, it’s a part of the art form. Even though I might not like it, it’s still a part of it and I appreciate it, and I respect it because it exists, so I think we should all respect every element of the art form, whether we like it or not, and understand that it has to exist. In order for one thing to exist the opposite has to exist.

SH: In tap classes, here or elsewhere, most of our students are women. But then, when you look at the shows that are happening, most of the people working or gaining recognition are guys. You don't see that many girls taking it up seriously. Also, I feel that many women, especially in the rhythm tap world, have problems retaining their femininity when tapping. Is that Hip-hop feeling really linked to the boys and to their way of moving? Tell us something about women in tap?
JS: Oh I think it’s beautiful. First of all, some of the best tap dancers are women. In fact because they can bring a feminine angle to what is mostly a masculine art form. It’s beautiful. Dancers like Diane Walker, you know, she is the epitome of a feminine dancer. She does it with such a level of excellence that I feel most women should play attention to her and to dancers like herself. Dormeshia Edwards is a very feminine dancer. She has the ability to approach the dance with a masculine energy. But you know, dance in general is still not considered a masculine art form so the more men get into it, the better. It’s our job as men to influence others and stimulate the young boys to get into dancing. They don't know. Basically they think that dancing is a feminine art form but some of the more masculine dancers around are tap dancers, and they will probably beat you up if you say anything otherwise (laughs...). From my perspective, I think it’s beautiful that most of the classes are filled with women because it shows they want to learn and they want to study. I think it also has to do with ego. A lot of dancers have big egos - especially men - and they are, you know, apprehensive to study with other men, or just study, period. They'd rather learn by themselves. That's cool too. But I feel that, as a student from life, we should never stop studying, from anyone. If somebody has something to teach and offer you should be ready to learn and to grow. That's the only way we can continue to grow.

Segue na parte 3, clique aqui