Sanding (dance) the box of rosin before matches to improve his grip. Sims' popularity as a tap dancer and career at the Apollo certainly made him one of the most if not the most influential sand-dancer of all time. Sand dancing was also used by the popular comedic vaudeville trio, Wilson, Keppel and Betty. They spread sand over the stage in one of their most well-known numbers, "Sand Dance". In their performance, there was no allusion to African American heritage; rather to the sandy environs of Egypt, a clear inspiration for their number. In spite of this deviation from the African American
New York Percussion Trio New York Percussion Trio The New York Percussion Trio was a three-member musical group consisting of two percussionists and one pianist, active in the New York City area from the early 1950s until the mid-1970s. The group was originally formed in 1954 as the Dance-Percussion Trio, to accompany performances by the modern dancer Daniel Nagrin; Nagrin was a member of the trio along with the pianist David Shapiro and the percussionist Ronald Gould. The group toured the United States in June and July 1954. Following this tour, the Dance-Percussion Trio disbanded and the musicians added a second percussionist, Arnold Goldberg,