Eduardo Corrochio

Eduardo Corrochio (1869 - 1912) was a Spanish-born dancer who won the first Tap Dancing Championship in New York City in 1890.

Biography

Eduardo Corrochio was born in Spain in 1869, the only son of Miguel and Regina Corrochio. His mother Regina was half-English, having been fathered by a British Colonel. His early life has been poorly documented. It seems that his family was part of the poor farming class that lived on the shrinking agricultural land that bordered the city of Madrid. He was accepted into Spanish gymnastics school at the age of seven, where he caught the eye of an instructor by the name of Damiano Tutador. Damiano saw the makings of a great dancer in young Eduardo. Eduardo was accepted into The Capablanca school of dance in the centre of Madrid.

To raise money for his entrance his parents Miguel and Regina had to sell their inherited property. A sense of indebtness plagued Eduardo for most of his adult life. He felt chained to his parents by feelings of deep guilt and obligation. This posed a special problem when his dancing ambition eventually brought him to the United States of America to study under the tap dancing legend Bernie Howard. Eduardo's immigration to America alienated him from his parents, something he writes about in his auto-biography "Soul of a Tap Dancer".

Eduardo died in a plane accident in 1912.

Career highlights

1890- Corrochio entered the Tap Dancing Championship in New York city. The only non-American in a field of two hundred invited participants, he defeated Henry Rogers to become the first tap dancing champion of the world.

1894- Corrochio successfully defended his title at another Tap Dancing Championship in Chicago, Illinois. Three hundred participants gather this time, twenty of them non-Americans, mostly from Britain and Germany.

ocial Notoriety

Eduardo Corrochio gained some notoriety in early twentieth century America as an iconic figure who anticipated the coming Jazz era. His passionate dance style infuriated some, delighted others. He was accused of "sucking the soul out of tap dance", turning it into a "European monstrosity" (Henry Rogers).

Eduardo Corrochio's name surfaced more recently on the television program "Seinfeld" as Elaine Benes's imaginary boyfriend in The Good Samaritan, an episode that aired in its third season in 1992. Elaine pretended that she was dating a Spanish bullfighter to impress a married couple and make them think that she had a more exciting life than she actually did. "Eduardo Corrochio" was the name she made up off the top of her head; this was apparently a random selection and was not related to her character's knowledge of Eduardo Corrochio, the tap dancer.