Cholly Atkins is the "man with the moves." He began his professional career in 1929 as a singing waiter near Buffalo, New York. He met William Porter, another singing waiter and they formed a vaudeville-style song-and-dance act known as the Rhythm Pals. When the team folded in the late '30s, Atkins's skills landed him a job dancing and choreographing acts for the renowned Cotton Club Boys, who were appearing with Bill Robinson in "The Hot Mikado" at the World's Fair. In the early '40s, Atkins teamed with singer and dancer Dottie Saulters and shared stages with the Mills Brothers, the Earl Hines Band, the Louis Armstrong Band and the Cab Calloway Review. In 1946, Atkins teamed with Charles "Honi" Coles and formed the class act Coles and Atkins, which toured with the bands Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Lionel Hampton, Charlie Barnell, and Billie Eckstine. They worked through the '50s, but by decade's end tap took a sharp decline. In 1962, Atkins's coaching skills were solicited by the Shaw and William Morris agencies of New York, which led to a staff choreographer position at Motown Records from 1965-1971. Between 1953 and 1994, he directed, staged, and choreographed acts for countless artists, including Smokie Robinson & The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Supremes, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and many others. He taught them to perform with rhythmic dance steps, turns and gestures drawn from the rich bedrock of American vernacular dance and, in doing so, created a new form of expression: vocal choreography. Atkins's contribution to American culture has been extraordinarily significant. He has won numerous gold records for his choreography, and in 1989 won a Tony for his choreography in Black and Blue. In 1993, recognizing his cast contributions to American culture, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded him its highest honor, a three-year choreographer's fellowship to record his memoirs and to tour colleges and universities teaching vocal choreography as a dance genre. He was presented with the Living Treasure in American Dance Award from Oklahoma City University in March 1999. Master dancer, choreographer, teacher, and director, Cholly Atkins is the quintessential American dance artist.