“Being a Taproot fellow fosters a heightened sense of self-esteem, which helps fuel my lifelong endeavor to reach my full potential as a human being.”
Bruce Bradley
Photo courtesy MY CITY MAGAZINE
Creative Expressions Dance Studio Class. Photo courtesy Bruce Bradley
Tapology Festival Class. Photo courtesy Bruce Bradley
Photo courtesy Flint Institute of Music
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A rich resonance for communities of color
Alfred “Bruce” Bradley has worked to support tap dance for 40 years and communities in both Flint, Michigan, and nationally for over 20 years. Tap dance, a traditional art that emerges from Black history, continues to have a rich resonance for communities of color. Bruce teaches, organizes, and presents performances of tap dance especially accessible to Black communities in the greater Flint area, especially in urban schools and neighborhoods. Though initially gaining recognition as a theater performer, Bruce Bradley came to tap dance relatively late. Despite only beginning to study tap dance in his 30s, he went on to study with Kevin Ramsey (a protégé of renown tap dancers Chuck Green and Henry LeTang) as well as the co-founder of the Detroit-based tap legends The Sultans, Lloyd Storey, who danced with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. Between time spent touring and visiting his mentors, he continued to live in Flint and was thereby largely self-taught. He performed widely, from New Orleans to Zürich. However, he always brought his new repertoire back to his students in Flint.
What does the Taproot Fellowship mean to you and how will it affect your practice?
Being a Taproot fellow fosters a heightened sense of self-esteem, which helps fuel my lifelong endeavor to reach my full potential as a human being.
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Raymond Wong
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Omar Santiago Fuentes
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Manuel A Delgado
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Lani Strong Hotch (Chilkat-Tlingit)
Chilkat/Ravenstail Weaver & Textile Artist
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Kewulay Kamara
Mandeng Finah Poet & Storyteller
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Karen Ann Hoffman (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin)
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Stevens Point, WI
Inna Kovtun
Ukrainian Ethno-Singer & Folklorist
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Hamid Al-Saadi
Iraqi Maqam Vocalist
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Elena Terry (Ho-Chunk)
Indigenous Chef
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Dena Jennings
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Chum Ngek
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Billy Branch
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Chef BJ Dennis
Gullah Geechee Chef & Cultural Bearer
Charleston, SC
Brett Ratliff
Traditional Appalachian Musician
Stamping Ground, KY
Bruce Bradley
Tap Dancer
Flint, MI
Annetta Koruh (Hopi)
Hopi Weaver
Village Bacavi, Third Mesa-Hopi land, Arizona (Bacavi, AZ)
Alejandro López
Chicano Muralist
Santa Cruz, NM
Wayne Henderson
Appalachian Luthier & Musician
Mouth of Wilson, VA
Willard John
Moko Jumbie Stilt Dancer
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Veronica Castillo
Mexican Polychromatic Ceramicist
San Antonio, TX
Theresa Secord
Penobscot Basketmaker
Farmington, ME
Stan Rodriguez
Kumeyaay Culture Bearer
Santa Ysabel, CA
Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto
Japanese Koto Musician
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Shaka Zulu
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Sami Abu Shumays
Arab Musician
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Roy & PJ Hirabayashi
Japanese American Taiko Musicians
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Pedro Adorno Irizarry
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Ofelia Esparza & Rosanna Esparza Ahrens
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East Los Angeles, CA
Meklit Hadero
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King Khazm
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Juan Longoria, Jr.
Conjunto Accordionist & Educator
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Jontavious Willis
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Jesus M. Cepeda Brenes
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Iris Brown
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Gertie Lopez
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Eva Ybarra
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Dr. Dwayne Tomah
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Deborah Gourneau
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Bill Harris
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Carolyn Mazloomi
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Adrienne Benjamin | Amikogaabawiikwe
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Anwan “Big G” Glover
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