DANCER

   John Tiller, was a wealthy Englishman who produced amateur shows and danced as a hobby. It is said he created the Maypole dance (he didn't) and the 'Pony ballet' then sponsored by George Lederer as well as introduced the straight line uniformity of dancing (The Rockettes originally were based on the choreography of John Tiller.) John started the Tiller Girls in 1885 in England after watching a stage play in 1883 called the Gaiety Girl. His troupe was the 'Four Sunbeams' who had a big performance at the King's Manchester Theater in 1890. The Sunbeam's later grew into the Tiller Girls. Tiller and his wife Jennie opend a Tiller dance school in Manchester, England. In certain shows a Tiller line-up

could be as many as 32 girls who were selected for uniform height and weight. John Tiller died in 1925 but by 1926 (Casino de Paris - Paris en Fleurs program ) was called the Lawrence Tiller Girls, John's wife kept the school running until her death in the mid 1930s. The London Palladium also featured the Tiller (16) Palladium Girls, (6/1944, 1950.)

   The Tiller schools remained open and run by Doris Alloway, Barbara Aitken and R.J. Smith. In 1973 the Tiller school was taken over by the impresario Robert Luff, with Barbara Aitken remaining as director and choreographer. It is said it would have taken about three months to turn a experianced dancer into a Tiller Girl.

   Basically they do what is called a 'Tap and Kick' routine, which was originally called "Fancy-Dancing" but today is known as 'Precision Dancing'. The routines mayconsist of straight lines or geometric figures. Every tap and kick troupe has tried to steer away from Tiller's arrangements, but sooner or later conforms to Tillers methods. After John Tillers death, his son Lawrence continued the tradition (Lawrence was not a dancer) however Lawrence dropped all the ballet training. John Tiller married Mary Carr (1855-1905) in 1873, and Jennie Walker in 1906, who passed away in 1936. Kracauer stated in 1923 'These 76 energetic women dance about in geometric shapes: "The regularity of their patterns is cheered by the masses, themselves arranged by the stands in tier upon ordered tier'.