Professor
Robert L. Reed

Professor Robert L. Reed was a much sought after tap teacher, producer, choreographer, and performer.  He was a protègè of Maceo Anderson, a founding member of the Four Step Brothers dance act.  Professor Robert L. Reed was a tap teacher, producer, choreographer, and performer.  He taught and performed all over the world with artists such as Clayton "Peg Leg" Bates, Leonard Reed, Jimmy Slide, The Nicholas Brothers, Cholly Atkins, Maceo Anderson, Prince Spencer, Harold Cromer, and Henry LeTang among many others. He opened for Cab Calloway, Sammy Davis Jr., Jerry Lewis, David Hasselhoff and the Smothers Brothers and many more. For several years he served as Professor and Artist-In-Residence at a performing arts university. 

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He served as Dance Captain with Riverdance and toured as a principle performer with Incognito in Europe.  He appeared in the critically acclaimed Peg Leg Bates documentary, "Dancing with the Peg."  As the Executive and Artistic Director of the nonprofit organization he founded, the Robert L. Reed Tap Heritage Institute, he developed and produced the annual St. Louis Tap Festival for over 20 years.  Through the presentation of the annual festival, he brought the best tap dancers from around the globe to St. Louis, while honoring the elders of tap dance and entertainment.  The St. Louis Tap Festival greatly impacted and inspired many lives and will forever hold a very important place in tap dance history.     

 

The Mayor of St. Louis, The Honorable Francis Slay, declared July 30, 2005 as Robert L. Reed Tap Heritage Day.

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Professor Reed would end every class by reciting the mantra, "May the tap dance gods be with you and always remember, respect the dance."