The astounding tap dancer Arthur Duncan, who died early this year aged 97, spent years performing on Lawrence Welk’s weekly TV show. For that the much maligned Welk should be commended. Duncan had the misfortune of being the very best at his craft at a moment in history when only a few discerning dance fans were still interested in the craft of tap dancing.  (See yesterday’s post to witness Duncan’s idol/mentor Bill Bojangles Robinson in his prime). Tap went into eclipse in the 1950s and only came back on the radar thanks to Savion Glover forty or so years later. Yet through the second half of the century, there was Arthur Duncan keeping it alive, perfecting and enhancing and demonstrating the art of tap wherever and whenever he could. The above ‘piano-dance’ was a Duncan specialty and will delight and astound you–Duncan is confined to a small area and makes more of it than most of us could make with a full ballroom floor. Or a full bathroom floor…if that’s your idea of a good time…