Mar 17, 2022
Andrew Nemr, rhythm tap dancer, director, and one of the most hard working and diverse dancers of his generation, was born in Alberta, Canada to parents Joseph and Marlene Nemr, who had migrated to Canada in 1976 from their native Beirut, Lebanon. The family migrated to Alexandria, Virginia, where at age three Andrew took his first dance class with Chris Collins.
At age nine, upon seeing the film Tap (1989), starring Gregory Hines, Nemr fell in love with tap dance, especially with the challenge dance scene in the film that featured such veteran hoofers as Bunny Briggs, Harold Nicholas, Steve Condos, Sandman Sims, Jimmy Slyde, and Sammy Davis, Jr. "It was the freedom of it," Nemr recalled of that scene, "and I just wanted to do what they were doing." These masters would influence Nemr's rhythmic literacy, especially Hines, who became his teacher and mentor.
From Hines, says Nemr, who studied with him at Woodpecker's Tap Center, "I learned about space and patience." Said Hines about the young dancer, "His skills are rich and truly expressive."