VIDEO: Grandmas Audition for “Britain’s Got Talent”

Michelle, 63, Heather, 70, Lynn, 80, and Maxine,75, are four lovely ladies who form the group known as The Cocooners. They are known for their tap dancing skills and infectious energy, but given their ages, when these ladies stepped on stage to audition for “Britain’s Got Talent”, the judges were taken aback. The Cocooners revealed stunning gold bodysuits, then tap danced on stage to the delight of the crowd. Everyone watching couldn’t help but applaud and clap along as they danced. Watch the video and enjoy their wonderful performance!

Also, here is some information on the history of tap dancing, provided by Wikipedia.

Tap dance has its roots in the fusion of several ethnic percussive dances, including African tribal dances and Irish jigs; the relative contribution of different traditions is a point of disagreement among historians and dance scholars. Tap dance is believed to have begun in the mid-1800s during the rise of minstrel shows. Famous as Master Juba, William Henry Lane became one of the few black performers to join an otherwise white minstrel troupe, and is widely considered to be one of the most famous forebears of tap dance.

As the minstrel shows began to decline in popularity, tap dance moved to the increasingly popular Vaudeville stage. Due to the two-colored rule, which forbade blacks from performing solo, the majority of Vaudeville tap acts were duets. This gave rise to the famous pair “Buck and Bubbles”, which consisted of John “Bubbles” Sublett tap dancing and Ford “Buck” Washington on piano. The duo perfected the “Class Act”, a routine in which the performers wore impeccable tuxedos, which has since become a common theme in tap dance. The move is seen by some as a rebuttal to the older minstrel show idea of the tap dancer as a “grinning-and-dancing clown.” John “Bubbles” Sublett is also known famously for popularizing rhythm tap which incorporates more percussive heel drops and lower-body movements.

Another notable figure to emerge during this period is Bill “Bojangles” Robinson who was a protégé of Alice Whitman of the Whitman Sisters around 1904 (then ‘Willie Robinson’). Well versed in both Buck and Wing dancing and Irish step dancing, Bill Robinson joined the vaudeville circuit in 1902, in a duo with George W. Cooper. The act quickly became famous, headlining events across the country, and touring England as well. In 1908, however, the two had an altercation, and the partnership was ended. Gambling on his popularity, Robinson decided to form a solo act, which was extremely rare for a black man at that time. Despite this, he had tremendous success and soon became a world-famous celebrity. He went on to have a leading role in many films, notably in movies starring Shirley Temple.

Shortly thereafter, the Nicholas Brothers came on the scene. Consisting of real life brothers Fayard and Harold, this team wowed audiences with their acrobatic feats incorporated into their classy style of dancing.They never looked less than suave and were always in total control of their dancing, even in childhood numbers such as Stormy Weather.

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