Museum of Chinese in America

In this interview, Larry Long describes growing up in Australia and how he began tap dancing. With a lot of natural talent he quickly got jobs to dance and was able to join a touring performance. However, his dance career was interrupted when he was drafted for the Australian army. After his term he then came to United States, got a job, returned to Australia to get a visa and then came back to the United States. After working some on the West Coast, Long then traveled to New York, performed at the Apollo Theater (as an emcee) and then got a job at the China Doll. Long then elaborates on the politics of working at the China Doll and how much of their performance material was Latin music and dancing while all of their performers were Asian. He then worked for quite a while at the Forbidden City. He reflects upon differences between when he was performing in comparison professional performance culture now.