Ethel Bruneau

Ethel Bruneau was was born in New York City in 1936 to a Barbadian father and Jamaican mother. From a young age she studied tap at the Mary Bruce Academy and eventually also took classes with Martha Graham and José Limón, as well as at the Katherine Dunham School of Cultural Arts. She performed on top variety television shows hosted by Ed Sullivan, Milton Berle and Sid Ceasar. Bruneau first travelled to Montreal in 1953 as a dancer with Cab Calloway’s orchestra. She stayed on performing in the top clubs of the era including the Black-owned nightclub Rockhead’s Paradise. She performed tap and Afro-Cuban acts, and came to be well-known as Miss Swing. In 1964 Bruneau began teaching tap in Montreal, which led to a small home studio in Kim Reany’s basement. This was the beginning of a teaching legacy that continues to unfold today through Canada’s finest tap dancers. In 1995 Bruneau founded the Montreal Tap Dance Society, which gives student scholarships and hosts events with master teachers.

Ethel Bruneau will be inducted into the Dance Collection Danse Encore! Dance Hall of Fame in 2021.