Eleanor Powell History Quiz

Eleanor Powell performing at the Cave Theatre Restaurant in Vancouver, BC, in 1964.

1. What type of footwork was Eleanor Powell most famous for?

2. Name the Cole Porter tune from the film Broadway Melody of 1940, in which she danced with Fred Astaire—it’s her most celebrated number.

3. True or false:  Eleanor Powell formally studied tap dancing in order to overcome shyness as a child.

4. Powell spent endless hours of practice wearing ____________ _______________ ________________ with __________________ attached to keep her feet close to the ground.

5. Who is the famous tapper she worked with at private parties in New York City? (Hint: He taught her his legendary stair dance.)

6. Who choreographed Powell’s dance routines, including her solos?

7. What was the name of the film in which she received her first star billing, playing opposite leading man Robert Taylor?

8. Name the studio where she made most of her musical films and had her own bungalow in order to rehearse routines.

9. In which film did Powell famously tap out a Morse code message in the middle of a routine?

10. What famous dancer, who affectionately called Powell Ellie, noted in his autobiography that “she put ’em down like a man…She really knocked out a tap dance in a class by herself”?

Answer Key

1. “Machine-gun” solo footwork or low-to-the-ground footwork 2. “Begin the Beguine” 3. False: Eleanor Powell studied ballet and was self-taught in tap dancing. 4. Army surplus belts; sandbags 5. Bill “Bojangles” Robinson 6. Powell choreographed all of her own numbers. 7. Broadway Melody of 1936
8. MGM 9. Ship Ahoy (1942) 10. Fred Astaire

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