Dancer Josh Hilberman believes tap dancing is a truly integrated art form,
and he proves it in White Jew Blues.

SUZANNE CHESSLER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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ancer Josh Hilberman has fun touring with the
other five hoofers in Manhattan Tap. The New
York-based troupe — joined by its own musi-
cians for all kinds of American, Latin and
African styles — will take the stage at the Macomb Cen-
ter for the Performing Arts 3:30 p.m. Sunday, March 23.
But Hilberman shows a more serious side with his two-
man, choreography-plus-narrative production White Jew
Blues.
Hilberman takes Blues to Brandeis University in April,
hoping that premiere engagement with a larger audience
will lead to bookings around the country.
"Everybody in Manhattan Tap is an independent con-
tractor," explained Hilberman, who this season has spent
six weeks with the company and taps a solo to the mu-
sic of "Honeysuckle Rose."
"Most of my time is spent teaching dance," he added.
"White Jew Blues is kind of a coming-of-age story. It's
an exploration of race and stereotypes. There's a contro-
versy about whether tap dancing is a white or black art
form, and the answer is that it's a totally integrated art
form.
...,
"Along with presenting dance and text, I do a little bit
of singing. I perform with my piano player, Paul Arslan-
ian, and we use a lot of jazz standards. I planned it to fit
in with the current interest in diversity programs."
Hilberman, who grew up in North Carolina, has been
in musical theater since he was 13 and signed up for a
high school tap class when he needed to meet a physical
education requirement.
"I just started tap dancing and loved it," said Hilber-
man, 30, who is single and lives in Boston. "I never thought
I would do it as a career, but I took some classes in New
York and met some of the greatest dancers at tap festi-
vals.
"After I graduated from college as an English major, I
kept up tap dancing. All of a sudden, I was teaching and
then began to travel. In the last five years, I've been on
the road all over the world, performing as a soloist as well
as with this company and teaching workshops."
Last summer, Hilberman conducted a workshop at a
private dance studio in Ann Arbor.
Hilberman, whose grandfather was a dancer at parties
in Estonia, thinks it's ironic that he has developed a show
that relates to his ethnic background. Raised in an athe-
ist household, he knew little about his Jewish heritage.
"I think I picked the subject because I was stereotyped
as a Jew but never went to synagogue," he said. "I wasn't
formally connected to the Jewish religion, and I miss that
as an adult. Because I feel the lack now, I've begun to read
about Judaism."
Because of his career, Hilberman spends a lot of his free
time working out and reading about jazz. ❑

Manhattan Tap performs at the Macomb Center for
the Performing Arts at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, March 23. For
information, call (810) 286-2222. For information on White
Jew Blues, call (617) 776-0720.

Josh Hilberman: " White Jew Blues is kind of a coming-of-age story."

PH OTO BY J IM KAHNWE ILLER

Josh On Tap