Ludie Jones

Ludie Olivia Jones (January 28, 1916 – October 3, 2018) was an American dancer. Jones was part of the Harlem Renaissance and started tap dancing at an early age. She had an early career that spanned the 1930s to the 1950s and was revived in the 1980s. Jones continued to dance and teach tap dance well into her later years.

Biography Ludie Olivia Jones was born in New York City on January 28, 1916, and was one of five siblings. Jones started dancing when she was three, after being introduced to the Charleston and the Time Step by a family friend. Soon after, her mother signed her up to take dance lessons and when Jones was eleven, she was teaching tap dance at Emma Kemp's studio. The Three Poms stayed together until the 1950s and also performed United Service Organizations shows across the globe.

In 1955, Jones began to work as a telephone operator for the New York Telephone Company, after having trouble finding tap dancing jobs. The Paducah Sun wrote that "A special feature of the show is the tap dancing of Ludie Jones, a Harlem Renaissance lady from the original Cotton Club. She continues to stun audiences with her vigorous tap routines." She toured internationally with "Shades of Harlem".

Jones continued to teach tap-dancing into her nineties. The St. Louis Tap Festival honored Jones in 2008.

Jones died on October 3, 2018, in New York, aged 102. According to cultural and dance historian, Delilah Jackson, Jones was considered "one of the greatest tap dancers in Harlem" and was essential in preserving that style of dance.